Mishaps in Time
by valiant.fausta
Summary: REVAMPING IN PROCESS
1. Chapter 1: The Call

Disclaimer: Believe me, I do not have any rights to the Chronicles of Narnia. I'd be using this space to gloat if I did.

**Chapter One: The Call**

It had been flurrying with a vengeance since noon, as it should five days before Christmas, bringing the guarantee of a school delay or cancellation to the six teenagers who were imprisoned by the storm in an otherwise empty house. Eleven harsh chimes echoed from the grandfather clock in the foyer, drawing a shiver from some of their spines as they cocooned themselves in winter clothing by the front door.

From her perch on the wooden staircase, Caitlin, the oldest of the group, tugged impatiently at the strings of her furry ushanka-hat as she watched her friends bundle themselves up in gloves and parkas. "Are we all sure that we can get home in this?" she asked, blonde eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Just in front of her, the Uncompromised Driver of the Century, also known as Jake, leaned forward and brushed a curtain away from its frosted window to gauge the intensity of the storm. He shrugged apathetically and turned back to the group of girls. "Looks fine to me. And it's not like it's going to be getting any better, so we're best off just leaving now."

The knots of worry twisting in Caitlin's stomach were not soothed in the slightest by Jake's blasé response. Sure, Jake could drive home in this storm backwards and doing the cha-cha at the same time, but he was a different story. The opposite end of the experience spectrum consisted of Maegan, who was troubled enough driving under a sunny sky on a deserted freeway; adding a wintery mix to the equation and the meandering roads of backwoods North Carolina could only spell a car wreck and higher insurance payments. And these suspicions weren't even taking parental issues into account.

Sensing her friend's uneasiness, Cynthia, the house's sole occupant, spoke up from across the room. "Seriously, if any of you don't think you could drive it, then I'm completely cool with any of you guys sleeping here." She shared the same reservations about sending her friends into a quasi-blizzard, but she shouldered her way past the doubt as she pulled the blanket around her shoulders a bit tighter.

Robyn shook her head, wrapping a scarf around her neck as she spoke. "I think we'll all be fine, with the phone tree thing and everything." Her face was abruptly buried beneath bright pink fleece as Brooke agreed with a confident "Yeah, we'll be fine." Even Maegan nodded along, saying brightly "I can always have one of you guys come pick me up if I get lost!"

Maegan's little remark sparked a second of laughter into the group, and as all six of them gave hugs and said quick goodbyes Caitlin felt her worry fade to nothing. Jake set out first, letting in a surge of frozen air as he slammed the door shut with a last "Bye, guys!"

Caitlin, keys in hand, heaved her worn, leathery purse over her shoulder and grabbed the door handle, lightly adding a "Be safe, you guys." She embraced Cynthia warmly and gave a big smile to the other four as she pulled the heavy door closed behind her. The cold hit her face like a solid wall, making her eyes squint and her nose redden. Beneath the gloves she'd put on, her fingers still felt the shock of the cold as all of the blood in her body retreated towards her heart, and seconds later, her toes and legs followed suit.

Ahead of her, Jake was running to his car, laughing at her exclaimed "Oh my God, it's COLD!!" He got to his car in a flash, waving goodbye to her as he plopped into the driver's seat. Caitlin waved back, laughing after hearing his jubilant hilarity.

She quickly found her car along the street, her path lit by Jake's brake lights as he gunned it down Cyn's road. Seeing that the green sedan was only slightly iced-over, Caitlin did a mental jump for joy before she jabbed the keys into the driver's-side lock and wrenched open the door. With a loud _whoosh_, she landed in the driver's seat and dragged the door closed against the wind.

The keys were in the ignition, the car started, and the defogger blasting in mere seconds. Feeling rushed back to Caitlin's face and hands with sharp tingles as she tugged off her gloves to grasp the gear shift. Her phone was tucked under one of her knees so that she'd feel it vibrating if someone was calling, and as she pulled her foot off the clutch she glimpsed two shadows that ended up being Brooke and Robyn making a break for Brooke's car. Caitlin flashed her high-beams at them in yet another farewell before she hit the gas and sent her tired old sedan into second gear.

Cynthia's road was barely distinguishable through the dusty flurries that met Caitlin's windshield, but she managed to do alright as she made it around the first blind curve of many. In moments, she couldn't see Jake's car in front of her or Brooke's headlights behind her as all three drivers set different paces for themselves. Worry clouded Caitlin's mind as she shook her head in dismay; Jake always drove way too fast, regardless of the weather conditions.

After a minute or two, Caitlin was easing the sedan onto Flowes Store Road, a winding road if there ever was one. Surrounded by shadowed countryside, Caitlin tried to avoid imagining menacing shapes in the silhouettes of trees and bushes but still felt the need to lock the doors, just in case.

_In case of what?_ She thought to herself. _In case bears decide to quit hibernating and attack the nearest moving green Honda?_

Caitlin gave herself a quick shake to bring her focus back to the road.

_Of course, there are always deer on these back roads, too. What would I do if I saw one? Would it be better to just hit it, or maybe to swerve out of the way? Probably to swerve, but then I'd probably _

_hit a fence or a house… How would I explain that one? "Sorry about the car Mom and Dad, but I didn't want to hit Bambi!"_

The corners of her mouth twitched up into a smile as she thought of the comical scenario, imagining said deer standing up and singing show-tunes like a demented satire of all things Disney. Calmed by her own wild imagination, she resorted to turning the dial for the radio.

Instantly, an overplayed club anthem boomed out of the speakers, making the windows pulse with every innuendo-laced lyric. She didn't really like the lyrics, since they encouraged young, attractive women to wear little to no clothing and then to pop, lock, and drop it for all the men in the club, but she knew every single word, thanks to Jake. It was habitual for The Six, as Caitlin had dubbed their group of friends, to gather at someone's house and dance to embarrassing or improper music, just to enjoy finding their own grooves and moving to rhythms that they liked best. Happiness dissolved any apprehension that had been brewing in the back of her mind as she thought of her friend's dorky dance moves.

The labyrinthine road began to slim and curve more as Caitlin made her way home. The tires were battered and bruised by the people-sized potholes and disintegrating asphalt, and she felt the steering wheel jerk with every rough abrasion. "I hate these damn roads." She said to no one in particular, gripping the leather-covered steering wheel with a little more purpose. Her parents, she knew, would already be upset that she'd tried to drive in the snow, but they'd be livid if she got home sometime after dawn. Agitated, she pushed the gas that much harder.

Up and down hills she went, shaking herself out of any bouts of snow-blindness that distracted her. She'd been driving for a solid, slow half-hour at that point, but felt some pride in herself stir up her stomach. _So far, so good_, she thought.

She let herself relax into her seat as the heat finally seemed to be thawing her previously-frostbitten extremities, using only her left hand to casually steer the car. These were the moments when Caitlin was most at ease, free to think and remember and let her mind be miles away. A teenager is free and unbridled only behind the wheel of their own car, right? Caitlin was no exception.

The harsh light of another car's high-beams cast a shadow over the nearest hill, so Caitlin flicked hers off courteously as she came to the crest of the hill herself. The little Honda roared up the hill, and Caitlin tapped the brakes minimally in case of the random motorist was a cop, but suddenly a feeling of intense panic gripped all of her insides.

Time was abruptly slower as Caitlin realized that the other car was less than 50 feet away from her, high-beams shrinking her pupils as they assessed that both cars were heading straight for one another. The other motorist seemed to have no awareness that they were in the wrong lane or on a collision course, even as Caitlin smashed her fist onto the horn.

The teenage girl watched as her hands acted independently of her mind, grabbing the wheel and jerking it hard to the right. The other car's brakes squealed at last, but Caitlin was already careening 

off the road to avoid the blow. Her car was caught on the loose gravel that lined the roads, sliding of its own accord when without warning Caitlin felt the car jolt around her, her seatbelt go slack around her shoulders, and her body come loose from the seat. Her eyes were wide in shock and her mouth was open in a soundless scream as she realized the pain she was about to feel.

Her muscles lost their will to brace against an impact with the windshield, and Caitlin fleetingly thought of the fact that animals who know they are about to die relax completely.

Then she hit the water.

Gasping reflexively, she suddenly had water rushing up her nose and burning a path down the back of her throat before she could think a rational word. Her eyes were wide open when she hit the water, making them eyes sting and squint as the contacts in them encountered the murky water. She clawed at the water, propelling herself upwards as soon as she could tell which way was up and soon her fingers tasted air.

She coughed and spluttered as she reached the surface, fervently wiping water away from her eyes. Before she could see where she was, Caitlin was being dragged back into the depths by the weight of her winter clothes as they took in water. There was a swift current around her, pulling her relentlessly towards some unknown end. Strength surged through her as adrenaline seized her body, helping her as she fiercely battled her way back to the top, but she began to realize that it was to no avail. The wet clothes clung to her body like a second skin, made worse by the fact that it was like a second skin made entirely of lead that made her sink like a stone.

The water gained speed and Caitlin was momentarily above its surface as the momentum picked her up like a rag doll, just before it threw her back into the frothing rapids. Some shred of sense made her fingers lethargically search out the buttons of her sodden peacoat, but she had only tugged one loose when a sudden pain lanced up her back.

All the oxygen that she'd fought so hard to keep rushed out of her lungs in a great haze of bubbles, and blackness started to creep into her peripheral vision as pain and numbness enveloped her skin. Shadows swam above her head as she lost all awareness of her surroundings.

a/n: _Any criticism is good criticism. Love, Fausta_


	2. Chapter 2: The Threshold

Disclaimer: I honestly own nothing.

**Chapter 2: The Threshold**

It was with reluctance that Caitlin felt herself being summoned into the waking world. She was wonderfully cozy and nestled deep into the down blankets of her bed, but the sun was still shining brightly through her bedroom windows and refused to allow her to go back to sleep. Twisting in the blankets, she felt her pajama pants constrict around her legs uncomfortably, and a small suspicion began to form in her mind.

She absently brought a hand to her hair to tame the inevitable bed-head, but stopped when she realized it was damp to the touch. In fact, she could tell that her pajamas were a bit soggy too from the way they clung to her skin. Apparently, she'd showered late last night… (Had she even showered before she'd gone to bed?)

Now utterly confused, Caitlin opened her eyes despite the dry contacts that clouded her vision and tried to squint and read the clock.

As it turned out, there was no clock. There was no nightstand. There were no lavender-painted walls, no white-paneled windows, no queen-sized oak sleigh-bed, no ceiling fan, no bookshelves, no lava lamp, no dirty clothes, and no rough carpeting. She wasn't even wearing pajamas.

What Caitlin actually saw were her jeans and grey wife-beater, which were itchy from their dampness. She saw earthen walls, a small hole in one wall that sunlight was shooting through, a massive blanket that had dozens of different-colored patches on it, numerous pillows scattered about, and some sort of dog's bed with even more pillows and blankets heaped inside. And suddenly, every event of the previous evening was racing to reenter her mind, so that they became a monstrous and confusing blur of headlights and rushing water. Caitlin's heartbeat was deafening to her own ears, and her breathing began to quicken as it does when one were about to cry.

She could be lost somewhere between Cyn's house and her own, even though she'd been positive she'd been headed the right way. Her car was probably totaled somewhere in the snowy wilderness, or underwater in the tumultuous river, with her friends worried sick and her parents worried and gearing up to be angry as hell. And God knows whose little hovel she'd woken up in, or what they planned to do with her now that she was cold and wet and at their mercy. She'd freeze to death if she tried to escape into the frozen December dawn unless she found her clothes. Another thought crossed her mind: how could someone have found her underwater in a snowstorm?

As soon as she'd pondered this, she heard the shuffling footsteps of someone approaching from one of the other rooms. If her heartbeat was irregular before, then there was no accurate world in the English language to describe the speed at which it hummed in that moment as her whole body tensed to react with either fight or flight.

A voice reached her ear that was both loud and kind, exclaiming, "Are you awake yet, dear? I've some breakfast ready if you are." And in through the doorway walked an otter.

A huge, talking, smiling, apron-wearing otter…that was carrying a plate of something that smelled several notches above delicious.

Caitlin stared as the otter obliviously continued talking, waiting for her brain to catch up with her eyes and deduce what sort of drug she'd accidentally taken or exactly how hard she'd hit her head. It was taking longer than expected.

The otter, however, was merrily pulling back red curtains from window-holes that Caitlin hadn't noticed, chattering on like everything was absotively-posolutely A-Okay. "I'm surprised that the young ones didn't wake you when they saw you this morning! Oh, to see the looks on their little faces when they saw you lying right in the middle of our bed!" She chuckled quietly to herself. "But either way, you're up and about now, which is good after the jolt you gave your head last night."

Caitlin hadn't moved yet beyond an occasional confused and disbelieving blink.

At long last, the otter turned and frowned at the young lady. "By Aslan, you are looking positively _ghastly_! Pale as a frog's underbelly and eyes wider than a surprised owl's, goodness knows what happened to you before Mr. Otter scooped you up! I shudder at the mere thought!" The otter looked sidelong at Caitlin, eyes attempting to prompt a word or two from her.

With a raspy voice, Caitlin managed to respond without focusing on the fact that she was talking to a river otter. "Um…did you take me clothes?"

Mrs. Otter nodded as she spooned some of the sweet-smelling food onto a plate. "Yes, of course. We couldn't have you catching a chill with all those wet things on! Such strange garments, though. Are you foreign, love?"

Caitlin shook her head. "No, I live right off Stallings Road. I was trying to get home when my car went off road and I ended up in what I suppose was the river you said something about. Did you see it? Is it really banged up?"

The otter looked at her funnily. "See _what_, dear?"

"It's a green Honda. It might be in a ditch or something closer to where I fell in." Caitlin's eyes fell and started to feel watery again. "Either way, my parents are going to murder me after getting me to pay for the damage. It was stupid to try and drive in a snowstorm; I don't know why I even tried."

Mrs. Otter stared at the young girl with an expression close to bewilderment. "My dear, you are beginning to sound twisted in the mind." She held out a plate of what smelled like fish and potatoes for Caitlin to take. "But it's nothing a hearty meal won't clear up!"

Caitlin tried to push the food away, though her stomach was screaming at her to accept it. "Please ma'am, can I just use your phone to call my parents to come get me?"

Looking more befuddled still, Mrs. Otter set the plate down and put her hands (sorry, _paws_) on her hips. "Truly, love, you are starting to worry me with your spouting gibberish about banging green carts and snowstorms! I'm worried that you may be more injured than we previously guessed!"

The girl shook her head. "No, no, no, not a green _cart_, a green _car_. You know… the kind you drive with a steering wheel and the brakes and everything? And it's December; why's it so outlandish to suggest that it's snowing? That's sort of what winter _does_."

Well now, the otter just looked concerned, which frankly made Caitlin angry. "Why are you looking at me like I've grown another head?"

Shaking her head slowly, the otter answered. "You are not making any sense at all, dearie. I think t'would be best if you were to lie down and have another rest. It's no use trying to do anything when you're not in your right mind…"

Okay, the otter had crossed a line. "Excuse me, _ma'am_, but I am damn well in my right mind and, frankly, your insinuating that I am outside of my wits is very irritating. It's _you_ that doesn't seem to know what time of year it is, or even what a freaking _car_ is." With that, Caitlin stood up to her full height and dropped the blanket to the earthen floor. "So, thank you for rescuing me and letting me stay here, but I do believe that I have overstayed my welcome."

Despite the nagging pain in her entire body and the fact that her foot got caught in the quilt, Caitlin hurried from the little room and into what resembled a kitchen, but miniature-sized. She grabbed her winter coat from where it was on a makeshift clothesline and made a beeline for what looked like the front door.

She heard the otter-lady behind her, yelling frantically, "No, no, _no,_ you are not well!" But she paid no heed as she lifted the wooden latch and opened the door into the blinding light of morning.

Her eyes shut at first as they adjusted to the light, and in that single moment, Caitlin realized that she had a much bigger problem than a totaled car. The first sensation was warm grass between her bare toes, followed quickly by the ground rushing up to meet her as her eyes opened.

Everything around her was green, from the grass she'd collapsed on to the tree leaves that rustled in a springtime breeze. Small white blossoms were dangling from trees back behind the little otter's house, and brown cattails sprang up from the swift, clear river that was less than a yard in front of her. Birds sang. Dragonflies flew lazily near her face. The sweet fragrance of honeysuckle and growing things filled her nose.

Mrs. Otter reached the doorway just as the young woman collapsed in front of it. The girl's shoulders were trembling as she sat in the dirt, with one arm still bare to the sun and the other wrapped in the itchy jacket that Mrs. Otter had so painstakingly hung to dry. With soft, webbed steps, the otter made her way to the girl's side.

"Th-this is all w-wrong. W-where's the _snow_? Where's my _car_?" the girl whispered fiercely, then abruptly glared at the otter and yelled, "_Where the hell am I_?! What did you _do_ to me?"

The otter stood there flabbergasted, fiddling with one corner of her yellow apron. This was a severely troubled Daughter of Eve that she had been saddled with. "I have not done a thing to you, my dear, except to make sure you were dry and warm after Mr. Otter brought you home last night."

"But…" Caitlin started, suddenly looking very young, "where is this? It was snowing last night, and now I'm…it's…_wrong_, all wrong." She took a shuddering breath and covered her mouth, as if to keep herself from sobbing.

Shaking her head slowly, Mrs. Otter looked at her with soft eyes. "It has not been winter in Narnia for nearly three months, young one. And last night was as warm an evening as we have had in days."

The girl's hands snapped over her ears suddenly. "Stop, just stop! Animals do not _talk_! It's not right!"

Extremely offended, Mrs. Otter stood right in the girl's line of sight. "Talking Beasts have been in Narnia since its very beginning! Had you not learned of our reappearance, or at least read stories of the Golden Age of Narnia?"

Caitlin looked up at the otter, eyes squinting as her brain caught up to her ears. "There's not a Narnia in North Carolina, is there? Because I live in Harrisburg, and I know there's not a Narnia near us."

Mrs. Otter began to form a theory as she listened to the young girl's words, and knelt down to her to better see her face. "Do you know who rules over Narnia?"

The girl frowned, thinking. "George W. Bush."

"Erm…no. Does King Caspian X sound familiar?"

Caitlin scoffed under her breath and looked at the otter with more annoyance than before. "No, ma'am, especially since there haven't been any _kings_ in the United States since the 1700's."

The otter frowned even though the comment was only helping support her theory. "Do you know who Aslan is?" she asked warily.

"Nope."

At this, Mrs. Otter blinked rapidly several times. "He is…the very creator of our world, of all of Narnia and Archenland and Ettinsmoor and the Eastern Seas! _How_ can you not know him?"

The girl considered for a short moment before her eyes widened in speculation. "Is he anything like the God of Christianity?"

Mrs. Otter blinked a few more times. "Well, I don't know where Christianity is, and I've never heard of such a place. But I do know that Aslan is incomparable to anything else in existence; he is far too great and remarkable to be put side by side with any other creature in this world. Do you at least know your name?"

The girl nodded. "Caitlin."

Nodding slowly, Mrs. Otter stood. "Caitlin, I have a guess as to what may have happened to you, but I believe that you will hear it better with a full stomach. I promise that I bear you no ill will."

Caitlin stood up slowly and followed Mrs. Otter into the little den once more.

Before she closed the door behind her, she looked back at the blossoming landscape as confused as she had been upon waking up.

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_Review, please! Love, Fausta_


	3. Chapter 3: Supernatural Aid

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for the greatness that is the Chronicles of Narnia. But the character Caitlin, as well as her friends at home and the Otter family, are mine.

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**Chapter 3: Supernatural Aid**

King Caspian X sat atop his throne in an empty castle. It was white and shining, with a glistening glass ceiling and dwarf-fashioned sculptures looking so real that they could have stepped off their pedestals and it would not have surprised him in the least.

No lords chattered about frivolous matters in their respective chairs, no servants attempted to stuff him full of wine or food, and not even Sir Reepicheep counseled His Majesty in the matters of honor or chivalry, as he was prone to do whether Caspian liked it or not.

Of course, the lack of all these habitual annoyances could be attributed to one phenomenon: King Caspian X was asleep. Very deeply, serenely, and most enthusiastically asleep.

In his slumber, King Caspian sighed deeply and stood up from the high-backed throne to walk around the castle without bartering landowners or foreign emissaries shadowing his steps. His footsteps echoed melodiously around him as he traipsed down silent hallways and into silent rooms, marveling that he had nowhere to be, no schedule to follow. After what felt like hours, he decided to go down to the gardens he knew would be flourishing in what could only be his new Cair Paravel. Gone were the dark passageways and foreboding slate walls of his uncle's fortress, instead replaced with majestic white columns and sunny halls built for dancing and feasting.

As he walked, Caspian imagined that his Cair Paravel must be just as divine as it had been in Narnia's Golden Age.

Finally, his feet brought him to the edge of the gardens and Caspian absentmindedly picked a rosy apple from one of the many trees that lined the eastern wall. Out, into the sunshine he went, taking in the sea breeze by the lungful. He crossed to the seawall, leaning over to glimpse the foamed edges of waves reaching farther and farther up the white sand as the tide came in.

"My son."

Caspian's hand dropped his apple at the deep voice that seemed to rumble through his body, and the king whorled around to face its owner.

Aslan surveyed the young man with calm features and a soft grin before padding his way over to the seawall. "You have done well for Narnia, King Caspian."

The young king bowed, attempting to hide his joy at seeing the Great Lion again. "I have only done what you requested, Aslan, though I must admit to missing you since you left us."

The Great Lion smiled. "And I have missed you, my son."

Caspian returned his smile and glanced fleetingly at the sea. "Is this vision a signal to start my journey across the Eastern Seas?"

"No, my son. More time must pass before Narnia is able to give up its king for such a long while."

Inwardly, Caspian was disappointed, since he craved to see beyond the sandy beaches of his kingdom, but he quickly dismissed the feeling. "Then you are returning to us?"

The Lion's face fell a small bit, and he looked out to the sea and beyond its horizon. "My meeting you here, Caspian, is not to signal _my_ return. You and I are speaking because someone is in dire need of your aid."

Caspian blinked. "Forgive me, Aslan, but many people are in need of my aid."

Shaking his mane a bit, Aslan continued. "This is a higher calling than that of quarreling diplomats or disputed borders. All of those tribulations are temporary, while the task I am giving you ensures Narnia's continued restoration and prosperity."

The young king took a deep breath and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I…can appreciate that this undertaking is of utmost importance, and I am always devoted to the wellbeing of Narnia. My advisors, however, will not be so fond of the idea, I think. What am I to do about them?"

The Lion smiled at Caspian. "You are their king, my son. They must trust that your judgment is sound."

"Very well, Aslan." Caspian said. "Who is it that I am to seek out?"

Aslan nodded slowly. "A Daughter of Eve was brought here much like the Kings and Queens of Old were so long ago. She is in need of your protection."

Caspian frowned in confusion. "How am I to find her?"

The Lion chuckled lightly. "This I cannot tell you, for that is part of your journey, my son. You must make haste, however; she will be in need of rescue if you do not reach her in time. You know your lands, King Caspian; what do_ you_ think is the best way to find her?" the lion said cryptically.

Considering, Caspian tried to meet the Lion's eyes. "Once I find this Daughter of Eve, what am I to do with her? Is she to be kept locked away, out of danger? Is she to become a Lady of the court or some such thing?"

Aslan shook his head and faced the young king. "You must bring her here, to Cair Paravel."

"Cair Paravel?" Caspian asked skeptically. "But it is not yet fully rebuilt…"

"It is not the _new_ Cair Paravel that should interest you, my son." Aslan said. "Your answers are within the _Golden Age's_ Cair Paravel. Your Daughter of Eve's purpose lies under the ruins of Cair Paravel."

Caspian nodded resolutely and stood the tiniest bit straighter. "Very well, I shall find this Daughter of Eve and ensure that both our fates are amended."

"Within you is the bright future of Narnia, my son. I cannot imagine a better man to have undertaken such a task." The lion's voice began to sound farther and farther away, more surreal as everything blurred around them.

"When will you return, Aslan?" Caspian said hurriedly, beginning to feel himself stirring in bed and waking up.

"It is not for you to know, my King." Aslan began to fade, as did all of Cair Paravel, but Caspian clung to the last words of the Lion as he opened his eyes to bright sunshine lighting his bedchamber.

He sat up slowly in bed, limbs still heavy with sleep even if his mind was alert as could be. He was pushed for time, Aslan had said, to find this Daughter of Eve in all of Narnia's vast forests and villages, unless he wanted to risk this Daughter of Eve's safety.

Obviously, the issues of court would have to be set aside for close to a month, depending on the return journey. Caspian smirked, realizing that he would be able to free himself of affairs of state, if only for a little while.

Without further consideration, his swung his legs out of the bed and began to dress. There was much to be done.

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_Well, I hope you guys got your Caspian fix for now? Loved it? Hated it? Tell me!_ _Love, Fausta_


	4. Chapter 4: Crossing the Threshold

Disclaimer: I'm broke, meaning I barely own the clothes on my back ,let alone the copyrights to a movie or literary dynasty.

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**Chapter 4: Crossing The Threshold**

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She stared.

And stared.

And, for a change of pace, she stared some more.

Mrs. Otter's brows furrowed. "Caitlin? Did you hear me, child? I said that -"

"That I am very possibly in another world where four children from England came 1,300 years ago, defeated a snow-demon-woman, ruled until they were old with a gigantic lion for a sidekick, then disappeared." Caitlin deadpanned.

"Yes," Mrs. Otter began. "And then they suddenly -"

"Only to come back after aforementioned world had been overrun with people who had stumbled over it in the back of some island cave and went all Third Reich on the talking animals…"

Mrs. Otter nodded, a bit mixed up by the allusions. "And with them back, the King -"

"The King could usurp his uncle's throne, which was actually his throne in the first place, and then have a quick war involving dancing trees and a river eating a bridge, ending in the same old Kings and Queens disappearing back through a tree…" Caitlin puffed out a breath, thoroughly confounded.

"Umm…yes, dear. Yours is a rather abridged version, but I believe that you understand what's happened."

Face contorted in thought, Caitlin clasped her hands together and set them in front of her on the kitchen table. "Okay, I have an alternative theory."

Mrs. Otter sat up a little straighter in her seat.

Caitlin stared her straight in the eye and said, "I'm dead and this is some off-key version of Heaven."

The otter chuckled softly. "My dear, you would not have ended up here if you'd died. You, along with every other mortal that ever took a breath, are bound for Aslan's Country for eternal youth and peace. I think that you should just further entertain the idea that you are in a separate place than you were last night." With a motherly pat on her hand, Mrs. Otter pushed back from the table and walked over to Caitlin's side. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a quick look at your shoulder to see if it's looking any better. You took quite a hit last night, little one."

Caitlin didn't move as Mrs. Otter worked to re-bandage the sizeable gash that spanned both her shoulder blades. In her head, there was mass confusion as she tried harder to find some logical explanation for how the heck she'd ended up in the river. Nothing made sense in the slightest, and yet here was this talking animal that was able to produce an explanation offhand, as if Caitlin was an expected guest. The oddest part was that, despite the uncertainty of her situation, Caitlin felt no fear or anxiety to be gone from it. She had always been one to worry to the point of madness, and anxious to a fault at the slightest occurrence, but here she was, calm and at the mercy of a maternal otter.

Shuffling outside the den made Caitlin snap back to awareness, and Mrs. Otter stood up with a happy sigh. "Here they come, home at last! Oh, Caitlin, you may want to prepare yourself for-"

"HEY! THE DAUGHTER OF EVE IS AWAKE!!" screamed an overenthusiastic child's voice, and Caitlin felt her heart melt at the sight of four otter pups scrambling to get into the dugout. They were easily the goofiest-looking runners she'd ever seen, but their awkwardness was endearing as they tripped over one another with their soft, loping bodies.

"OH MY GOODNESS, I THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE NEVER GONNA WAKE UP!!"

"PAPA SAID YOU SPLIT YOUR HEAD OPEN! CAN I SEE?!"

"OH, I WANNA SEE TOO! CAN I, MAMA, CAN I?!"

Caitlin swallowed nervously, regarding the little fuzzballs with bewilderment. "Um…"

"Oh, by Aslan! Children, just let the girl be!" Behind the children was a portly otter that carried a woven basket over his shoulder. He closed the door behind the squabbling pups and nodded courteously to Caitlin as his wife came to kiss his cheek. "Sorry, they're just a bit eager from being away from home all day."

The girl just nodded quickly and eyed the otter pups worriedly.

"Did you catch anything today, darling?" Mrs. Otter said as her husband placed a kiss on her cheek.

Mr. Otter set a woven basket on the kitchen table proudly. "Yes, dearest; the children actually caught them this time, though." Caitlin raised an eyebrow as he unceremoniously dropped several large fish in a pile in front of her. "And the little ones also gathered some berries for more tarts."

Caitlin felt a tug on her shirt and looked down at one of the pups. It was obviously a girl, since it had a flower chain dangling around her neck. "Daughter of Eve? Isn't your mommy looking for you yet?"

The horrible pooling of tears in Caitlin's eyes started again, but she bit the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face. "I don't know. She might be." Caitlin's thoughts rushed back to home, imagining the look on her parents' face if a cop rang the doorbell. They would have no way of knowing that she was safe and warm and taken care of, no way to know that she was scared and lost.

The little otter frowned, thinking hard about something. After a long moment, she looked back up at Caitlin. "Okay, then. You can share _our_ mommy with us. Like you're my big sister!" Behind her, the other three nodded vehemently with smiles on their faces.

One of the boys said, "Now can we see your split-open head?"

It was in that moment that Caitlin fell in love with her otter siblings.

Mr. Otter walked over to the little group and made a big sweeping motion with his paws towards the door. "You little ankle-biters go out and practice your diving until supper!"

The pups let out a collective whine. "But we wanna stay and hear about Daughter of Eve!"

Caitlin cleared her throat a little bit and looked at the little pups. "You don't have to call me Daughter of Eve; my name's Caitlin. And if you go outside like your father says, I can tell you about it later."

The pups consented very unwillingly, but within seconds they were giggling and loping outside and into the late-afternoon sun, the splashing of water following soon after.

Caitlin watched the pups for a moment out of a little window, grinning despite herself. She turned to Mr. Otter, trying to sound very earnest and heartfelt. "Thank you for saving me last night, sir. I…I can't thank you enough for it, honestly."

The otter smiled and waved a hand her way. ""Twas no trouble at all, Milady. I should hope that you or any other beast in Narnia would do the same for me, were I to find myself in such a jam." Mr. Otter glanced over at his wife, who was busily constructing more than a dozen raspberry tarts. "Well now, dearest. How long until we're able to have a pinch of those tarts, eh?"

His wife shook her head. "Honestly, darling, your head is ruled by your stomach!"

Mr. Otter grabbed a handful of the leftover raspberries and popped one into his mouth. "And you rule my heart, sure enough." The pair shared a loving smile.

_Wow, I've been sucked into a Hallmark card…_ Caitlin thought as she surveyed the two otters chatting amiably. After a minute or two, Mr. Otter glanced sideways at her and pushed a few 

raspberries her way with a little smirk on his face. "If you think those are good now, Milady, wait until you taste my wife's tarts! They're the closest thing to perfection that has ever been made in a kitchen."

Mrs. Otter smacked his arm playfully. "Flatterer!"

"I can't wait to try them, if they're anything like that fish-potato-onion stuff." Caitlin said, trying to keep her mouth from watering at the very thought of the delicious concoction.

Mr. Otter turned in his chair suddenly, so that he was looking Caitlin right in the eye. "So, my dear, I've not yet heard how you ended up here in the first place; would you regale me with your tale, Milady?"

"Well, first off," Caitlin said, "we need to stop with this 'Milady' business. You can just call me Caitlin. You can call me Ms. Caitlin, I guess if you feel the overwhelming desire to add a title."

The otter cleared his throat sheepishly at the young woman's blunt manner of speech. "Sorry, Mila-_Caitlin_, it is just a force of habit to refer to another in such a way."

Caitlin sighed. "It's really not a big deal, I'm just not used to such…I don't know…mannerly references being made at me. People don't do that where I'm from, unless it's a child to a grown-up."

After a few more raspberries, Caitlin reasoned that she was best off trying to get back to the issue that was sitting heavily on her shoulders. "What can I do to repay your kindness? I'll do anything, really. I can clean and stuff, if you want. Or get berries and fish and…you know, whatever else you guys eat."

The otters both sighed and Mr. Otter spoke up. "You'd best put those thoughts aside, Milady. We were glad to help you, and are still glad to have you as our guest until you are ready to leave."

The girl shook her head. "No, no. I owe you big time. I mean, I can't even imagine how problematic it must've been to have an unconscious girl flung onto your doorstep."

Mrs. Otter patted her hand comfortingly. "What sort of mother would I be if I ignored another mother's child when she was hurt? Not a good one at all, I should say."

Her husband, meanwhile, stroked his chin in thought. "Actually, I think that we could use a bit of your help, Milady, with taking watch over the pups? They're more problematic than a surprise houseguest, most assuredly."

Caitlin smiled and nodded. "Okay, awesome! I've been told I'm really great with kids, and it's the least I could do." She stood up, grabbing the last two raspberries to Mr. Otter's silent dismay and taking a step towards the door. "What exactly are they doing out there?"

"They're just practicing diving and such; it's great fun to them." Mrs. Otter said, casting a frown her husband's way.

The girl glanced out the window again. "Is it okay if I go see what they're up to? I'm sort of curious."

Mr. Otter nodded. "Certainly, Ms. Caitlin, I'm sure the pups would revel in a adult's attention!"

Caitlin's smiled brightened and she took her first hesitant steps out the door before it closed behind her.

As soon as the girl was out of earshot, Mrs. Otter abruptly spun around and hit her husband's paw with a rolling pin with absolutely no mercy.

"BY THE NAME OF ASLAN, WOMAN!" Mr. Otter bellowed, snatching his paw away and cradling it to his chest. "Whatever was that for?!"

Mrs. Otter dusted off her rolling pin and then crossed her arms. "You needn't have told Caitlin that she needs to earn her keep; that girl is completely alone in the world, and it is the very least we can do to make sure she has a roof over her head and food in her belly."

Her husband sighed and stood up, taking hold of his wife's shoulders. "Dearest, I did not suggest such a thing with malicious or selfish intent. But, if I'm correct, she would feel much worse were she to be denied the chance to repay us, even if it is not necessary."

Mrs. Otter sighed deeply and gently removed her husband's hands from her shoulders. "I still find it very unkind to encourage her oddly-chivalrous idea."

"Look at it from another's eyes, dearest." Mr. Otter led her over to the kitchen window, where Caitlin was sitting on the riverbank with the pups swimming jubilantly around her feet where they met the cool water. The young girl was talking animatedly, her hands moving about rapidly as she pantomimed her adventure to the little ones. "She is at ease, knowing that she is able to assist us. I believe that it is a strong part of her character, to be constantly selfless and helpful, and perhaps that peace is the best thing we could offer her right now."

Rather crestfallen at a sudden thought, Mrs. Otter nodded. "That is, darling, until the time comes that she must tread her own path."

Her husband shrugged and tugged at the door, eager to join his children and the young stranger and learn more about her. "We shall face that when it is time, dearest, but right now, let us make her feel welcome!"

With a small smile, Mrs. Otter walked out to the mudbank beside her husband.

As soon as they saw their parents, one of the little pups let out with an overjoyed scream.

"MAMA, SHE REALLY _DID_ SPLIT HER HEAD OPEN!!"

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_Hello all! I know you want more Caspian, but Caitlin is relatively important, you know? She's up to a few interesting adventures before she runs into Mr. Tall, Dark and Royal, haha! As always, I'd love to hear from you, so review! Love, Fausta_


	5. Chapter 5: The Belly of the Whale

Disclaimer: I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia. I'd be writing all this on a 14 karat gold laptop, if I did, though!

a/n: Okay, I know that you all want Caspian. I do too, actually. Preferably in my room, surrounded by scented candles and red rose petals with his crown on. Only…his crown on. But be patient, he is on his way, I give you my word as a word-weaving whiz kid.

And this is a long one, but it's my favorite so far…

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**Chapter 5: The Belly of the Whale**

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Caitlin was standing completely still, up to her shins in water. In her hands was a haphazard net that she'd constructed out of strips of denim from the jeans she had from home, and it had settled on the bottom of the river so much that it was hard to tell where it stopped or started.

She'd been in this position for several minutes, and her neck began to hurt minutely from looking down into the water for so long. To her left, on the riverbank, the pups were all watching impatiently for another fish to make its way into Caitlin's clever little trap, hitting one another if they made so much as a squeak that could scare them away. Their Big Sister, as they'd started calling her, suddenly caught sight of a long, silvery fish as it made its way lazily around the calm waters at the base of a small waterfall. She smirked devilishly as it unknowingly inched towards her, but she remained motionless.

At long last, the unfortunate little creature had wandered into the net's grasp. Caitlin waited a lengthy minute to be sure that she would catch it, and then yanked the net out of the water and catapulted that evening's supper towards her waiting fans.

"Yippee!!" yelled one of the pups as he jumped to catch the fourth fish of the day.

Caitlin smiled and dragged her net out of the water. "Is that enough, do you think?"

One of the girls nodded. "Mummy only ever needs three or four to feed everyone."

"Maybe, but Big Sister eats even more than Poppa…" another otter sibling muttered, making Caitlin laugh in surprise.

"You, little brother, need to learn tact! One doesn't just go around commenting on a girl's appetite, unless he wants a slap on the head!" Caitlin said playfully before hoisting the basket of fish over her shoulder and nodding for the pups to follow. "Come on, I suppose we should start heading back."

The pups gave their best attempts at pitiful faces, but Caitlin just rolled her eyes. "If we get back with enough time," she said temptingly, "I might feel like going for a swim. But that's only if you all -"

Caitlin hadn't even said that they had to behave before the pups were scampering up the riverbank at a high rate of fuel consumption. She fell in behind them, catching up with their little legs with a few long strides of her own. She'd learned that the pups were very easy to tell apart after a second glance; sure, they were all brown on the top and white on their bellies, with the bottom half of their face being the color of fresh cream, but each pup was a slight bit different. Alo, for example, was the biggest of the pups. He was a tad darker than his siblings and had quite a rebellious streak. Pike was the other boy, easily set apart by a white spot that was set over each of his eyes and his tendency to whine. Mera could often be seen competing with Pike for attention, or trying to avoid getting mud on her fur. She had a dark ring around each of her ears that made her easy to pick out. And finally, there was Dush, the youngest of them. She was the only timid one, with the fur over her nose being dappled enough that it looked like she had freckles. It was her that had suggested that Caitlin share their mother, and it was Dush that appeared most often to help her Big Sister, keeping close enough to seem like a part of Caitlin's shadow. So, as Caitlin watched, she was able to see that Alo was gaining on Pike's slight lead in the race towards home, with Mera griping that it wasn't fair because they were both bigger and had longer legs and Dush just following along and trying to keep the peace.

Her mind caught itself as she watched the little furballs run to and fro, and she forced herself to remember that her time with them was only temporary until she found a way home. She'd been with the otters for nearly three weeks by that point, and as more time passed, she found it harder and harder to summon memories of home or her life there. And yet, despite the surmounting feeling that it was a fruitless cause, Caitlin relentlessly kept herself aware of who she was, where she'd come from, and why she had to go back.

It was most definitely growing more difficult to remember who she was, though; her reflection on the river's surface was changing at a rapid pace from the pale, short-haired girl she'd been upon arrival. Her skin, which had been so pale it nearly glowed in the dark, was now sun-kissed and a tad darker, with no sunburn in sight. (That had been a blessing in itself, with all of her time outside with the pups; she'd always gotten torched on every single beach vacation since birth to the point that she resembled a boiled lobster.) Her hair had changed as well, growing rapidly from just below her chin to just past her shoulders. The sun had lightened it quite a bit too, from the color of dead grass to a pretty shade of gingery blonde. Even slight waves were beginning to show in her hair as it grew. It was all rather surreal, actually; she was beginning to suspect that the air in Narnia was enhanced with Garnier Fructis.

Despite her whirring thoughts, Caitlin trudged along without giving away any inner disarray. Already, she could see the den less than a minute away, where the kids had already arrived and were waiting for her most impatiently. They observed as she set the fish just inside the doorway and gave a quick greeting to Mrs. Otter, then slowly turned around and made a big scene of stretching and yawning.

She sighed dramatically, and the pups braced themselves for her saying that she was too tired. But without warning, their Big Sister broke out into a run so unexpectedly that she left the pups scrambling to catch up with her. "I'll beat you all there!"

"Nuh-uh!" Alo said dramatically, leading the race towards the little lagoon that was further upstream.

It was a quick yet heated race, since the lagoon wasn't even five minutes up the river, but somehow it still ended with Caitlin 'tripping' just a few feet from the finish and Pike taking the victory with plenty of whining and complaining from the others.

Caitlin let the little ones jump in first and do a bit of splashing before she stepped into the shallows to join them. To the left of the pool was a mudbank that the pups used as a makeshift waterslide to rocket into the water and surprise one another. This part of the stream got quite deep, almost up to Caitlin's chest, but without much of a current pushing them towards the little rapids further downstream, it was perfect conditions for an all-out splash fight.

Pike attacked his siblings mercilessly, splashing with his strong back legs and getting them all right in the face; the rest of the pups wiped the water from their eyes and joined in the fun just as enthusiastically, but something had frozen Caitlin in her position on the outskirts of the frenzied game.

Dush, in her odd awareness of others' feelings, noticed her Big Sister's absence almost immediately and swam over to her with a look of concern.

Caitlin was staring at her hands, a look of resignation alighting in her celadon eyes as Dush approached. Something was obviously the matter, Dush realized as she saw the jumbled feelings written all over the Daughter of Eve's face. "Big Sister? What's the matter, did you hurt your hand?"

The girl looked up at Dush, as if just realizing where she was, and shook her head. "Um, no Dush, nothing's the matter. I'm just sort of sleepy."

The pup nodded sympathetically. "You were out in the sun a lot today, and Mummy says that can make you tired."

Caitlin nodded, still distracted. "Yes, I suppose that's it…I'm going to sit out for a little bit, okay hun?" She didn't wait for a reply from her semi-aquatic sibling, but instead stood up and walked out with her hands in front of her like she was holding something precious. The other pups soon dragged a concerned Dush back into their shenanigans, leaving Caitlin alone with her thoughts.

It was stupid, she realized, to feel the way she did as she looked at the two slippery circles that were in her hands; she had been in Narnia three weeks, and they had barely hung on that long. They were certain to fall out eventually, but now that they had… Caitlin could scarcely function as she realized that the thing she'd taken most for granted back home was now lost to her: her silly little contact lenses. She'd had them for so long that she'd nearly forgotten what it was like to have everything look like a bad Impressionist painting, so blurred and distorted. She could only see the movement and colors of the young pups just a few feet from her, and she couldn't distinguish a single blade of grass from the riverbank that she sat on, just a mass of green and brown.

And still, she stared. Some hopeful thought whispered that if she stared and thought long enough, she could figure out a way to fix the miniscule tear in them, or clean them in something that wasn't pond water, and then be able to see perfectly again. She looked around her once more, wondering if she could function in a foreign world without being able to see it, wondering if she could 

survive if she couldn't see a threat coming, or questioning if she could protect the pups if a predator was too far away for her to see.

It was a long, long time that she sat there; the pups played and lounged and talked amongst themselves for close to an hour, until the sun had started to rejoin the horizon in the west, and still she sat, weighing pro against con. She would close her eyes in thought, then open them up and squint around at the darkening forest, or poke at the lenses where they were drying out on her palms.

Finally, she stood up on unsteady feet. "We need to get home, pups." That was all she said before she turned around and headed in the direction of the den. Long before then, Alo, Pike, and Mera had realized that something was wrong, just as Dush had; for once, there were no protesting comments or complaints. The pups filed out of the water and walked on either side of their Big Sister. If they saw her squinting or taking abnormally deep breaths, they didn't say anything out loud or to one another. Fireflies were beginning to come out in earnest for the first time since winter ended, but if anyone noticed it, they kept their observations to themselves.

Soon enough, Caitlin realized that she was in front of the Otter home, and that the pups had already gone inside, and that Pike was holding the door for her with a fretful look on his furry face. His Big Sister tried to give him her trademark smirk, but her lips wouldn't hold a happy curve. She leaned into the doorway, enough to see Mr. and Mrs. Otter setting out five more plates of food. "You don't need to put my dish out yet. I'm going to stay outside for a while, since its so nice out."

Just like their children, if her surrogate parents noticed any turmoil in their guest's demeanor, they gave nothing away. "Very well, dear one. We'll keep a plate warm for you until you come in." Mrs. Otter said softly, and Caitlin nodded in silent gratitude before turning around and closing the door behind her.

It was still bright enough that Caitlin could maneuver herself around the lighter parts of the forest without too much trouble, but shadows began to form nightmarish shapes and creatures to her muddled eyes, causing her to stay in the sunlight if at all possible. After a few minutes of walking and making sure that she could make her way home by following the shape and sound of the river, Caitlin stopped her robotic pace and dropped to her knees in the mud of the riverbank.

With one shaking hand, she burrowed her slim fingers into the wet earth and began to clear away a small hole. The only sound around her was the river's trickling and bubbling, as well as her breathing as it got choppier and more strained with emotions she, for once, could not control. Within minutes, she had dug away enough earth to fit her arm up to the skinny elbow, and with dirty fingers, she scraped the shriveled contact lenses from her sweating palm and into the damp darkness. As she moved her hand to replace the dirt, she found that she was even blinder than she'd been a moment before as tears welled in her eyes and a horrible pain started in her throat as she tried to calm herself. It was useless to try; the only way she eased the pain was to let out the strangled sobs that had been leeching the happiness from her every minute of every day that she'd been away from home. They wracked her shoulders, tugged at every muscle in her body, until her arms stopped supporting her and let her fall sideways in the dirt.

As mud worked its way into her hair and skin, her mind threw hundreds of little thoughts in her face. She realized that she'd stopped wearing shoes only a few days after arriving in Narnia, took in that she hadn't even seen the winter clothes that she'd come in since that first morning with Mrs. Otter and had actually _tried _to forget about the itchy wool peacoat and the jeans that were now unrecognizable in the form of her fishing net. She wore clothes that Mr. Otter had bought cloth for, from a merchant in some Narnian market, and that Mrs. Otter had sewn together for her with Narnian thread and a Narnian needle. Her face was even distorting itself to resemble some creature of the Fey, with bright eyes and long limbs. What did she retain from her old life? When had it become her _old_ life? When, exactly, had she begun to surrender to her twisted fate and submerse herself in this unfamiliar world? In what moment had she started to let her mind erase the little details of home, and then the bigger ones, and then whole memories as they turned to a foggy clash of homesick feelings and worries that ate away at her?

Every venomous thought was like a kick to the stomach, and Caitlin let the salty tears run rampant down her face, into her mouth, into the earth, through her hair. Her knees had long since dragged themselves up to her stomach, and now she lifted a feeble hand to drag the rest of the dirt over the last morsel of connection between the old and the new. Her tears turned silent, but still violently quaked through her body. It was surprising how tired she'd made herself, and suddenly Caitlin realized that it was quite easy to cry yourself to sleep.

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There was no way to tell how much time had passed when a familiar sound reached Caitlin's ears. She tried to open her eyes, and after a moment the dried tears dissolved and let her eyelashes separate. She could feel how heavy and swollen her eyes were, and could still feel the pain in her stomach from where her muscles had been abused by her brutal catharsis. The sound came again, and Caitlin could not pinpoint how she knew the noise, and yet she knew it somewhere deep inside of her. She tried to focus her vision, but slowly remembered why it had become so impossible and felt her face contort with more sadness. She saw that soft light was now around her, and realized that she must've slept through the night on the squishy ground. As she tried to sit up, her heart stopped as the light that was _supposed_ to be sunlight actually _moved, _so that it was in front of her, followed closely by the sound that was eating away at her.

And then, one shining memory whispered to her what it was. _Sleighbells…_

Caitlin raised her eyes slowly to the source of the glow, and even though she could only distinguish the figure's colors and familiar shape, she knew exactly who the source of the deep chuckle and brightest of reds and greens belonged to.

"Hello, Ms. Caitlin Elysium." Father Christmas said softly, holding out a mitten-soft hand to help her stand up. "I say, you look a bit worse for the wear, my dear." He said all of this with such a calming 

voice that Caitlin didn't respond as he brushed mud from her clothes or hair away from her face until, by magic, there was none at all on her person.

She squinted up at him, just basking in the childish feeling that had risen like champagne bubbles inside of her. "How…"

"How is this possible?" the jolly man finished for her. "Well, little one, it was a mere five days before Christmas before you came here, and I could not bear to have such a lovely young lady be so far from home without her enjoying Christmastime. If anything, I am far overdue for a visit, right Ms. Elysium?"

Caitlin was thrown off by the usage of her last name; it had almost been lost to her in the time since she'd been home. She spoke up softly, still fearing that the happy spirit that had taken her under his warm arm was a hallucination. "For…for so long, I've been told you aren't possibly a real person. I always wrote you long letters, and wished for things, and wanted to meet you, but you never came, just like they said. But now you're…you've actually come to find _me_ this time, instead of me looking and hoping to find _you_."

Father Christmas nodded. "Yes, my dear, this time I have come to find you. But you're hardly a child enough anymore to let yourself trust your ears or your blurry eyes and know that I'm really here."

Caitlin suddenly couldn't look at the elf. "When I realized you wouldn't ever come, I stopped being a frivolous child and had to grow up. That's what my parents said."

A mitten-covered finger tapped her nose kindly, making her look back up at the rosy face. "You have always been governed by your own logic, Caitlin. I do not believe that you ever stopped being a child, since you still found ways for so many things that your world deems impossible to be reality."

She smiled softly, finding it hard to remain so sullen in Father Christmas' presence. "Especially you, Santa."

He laughed, deep in his belly. She noticed that it really did jiggle like Jell-O, much to her delight. "Yes Caitlin, especially me. You are proof that even a nineteen-year-old can remain happily like a child, and such a kind and good one in your case." Caitlin realized that she was now tucked under a lovely embroidered blanket in his sleigh.

In his hands, from nowhere, was a small wooden box with a red ribbon on its lid. "For you, Caitlin." Father Christmas said cheerfully as she took the small thing in her newly-clean hands.

With a silly grin, Caitlin tugged the ribbon off of the box and stuck it to the top of her head like her parents had done on the home video of her first Christmas. The box came apart with little effort, revealing a small, glinting something with a silver chain attached to it. Squinting, Caitlin picked up the long chain and brought the glittering object right in front of her eyes. At its top was the face of a snarling beast, mouth wide and fanged in its ferocity, elaborately framed by delicate metalwork. The creature's one menacing eye was a luminous garnet. The bottom was a straight and narrow band of iron that was cold under her fingers as she held it. "This is really intricate, _wow._" She murmured, looking back up at the jolly elf. "What it is, a necklace?"

Father Christmas shook his head, still smiling. "No, no, my dear; it is a key." He spun the key's shank so that Caitlin could squint at the little teeth at its end. "This is a very special key, Caitlin. It is called the Everkey, and it is the only one of its kind to ever have been forged."

Caitlin looked at the key again, skeptical. "What's so special about it?"

His blue eyes twinkled like a happy child's at her question. "This key is able to open any secret place, any lock, or any door that the possessor wishes to behold, as long as they do so with honest intention. I give this to you knowing that you will not use it to plunder or steal, and that it will be of great use to you while you live in Narnia."

Blonde eyebrows raised with fascination as Caitlin looked at her gift once again. This time, she squinted harder to see the detail around the animal's feral teeth where the skin was drawn back, noticing another odd feature that she'd not glimpsed before. "What's in the little beastie's mouth? It looks like got dented." she said, pointing a finger at the little abrasion in the metal.

"That is a keyhole, little one." Father Christmas said. The teenager gave him a look of disbelief, but peered closer. Indeed, it was in the telltale shape of a keyhole.

Caitlin frowned. "Why would a key have a lock? Decoration?"

Father Christmas chuckled. "The key itself has a lock that must be unlocked by another, smaller key. No single man - or woman - should ever wield full power over anything; that is an ancient Narnian belief. The Everkey, therefore, is useless unless unlocked by its counterpart, which would be held by another in order to keep any particular person from becoming too powerful."

Realizing his meaning, Caitlin huffed in disappointment. "Then it's worthless?"

The elf smiled and patted Caitlin's shoulder. "Only for now, my dear, I promise you. As I said, you will have need of it in the future." With a mighty groan from the sleigh, Santa climbed in next to Caitlin and took up the reins. "Well now, you've been away from home long enough. Let us get you back to the den."

As the sleigh jolted into motion, Caitlin realized that she had no problem calling the otter den her home anymore. It took longer to get back to the den, it seemed, than it had to blindly maneuver herself through the woods earlier. She sighed. "I'd be stumbling around in the dark if you hadn't come along." She said with a wistful smile. "It's too bad you didn't bring any contact solution."

The last part had been said with no real expectation, but Caitlin looked away from the blurry forest rushing by as he laughed. "What?" she asked, thinking she'd said something stupid.

Underneath them, the sleigh had stopped in front of the Otter's den. Father Christmas turned to her as she climbed down from beside him, still giving his deep belly laughs. From inside the den, scrambling feet could be heard as Mr. and Mrs. Otter rushed outside to see the source of the strange noises.

Mrs. Otter let out a frantic "Caitlin! Oh, thank Aslan you're not hurt!" and then she and her husband seemed to realize the sleigh and reindeer and red-nosed Yuletide joy-bringer, as well as the fact that Caitlin was almost eerily clean.

Father Christmas waved at the two stupefied otters with a warm smile. "Hello, Otter."

Mr. Otter gave a shaky. "F-Father Christmas."

"You are truly a good soul to have taken Caitlin in as you have." The jolly old elf said cheerily. "The young lady is eternally grateful to be living as your guest."

"We're…honored to have her with us as well, sir." Mr. Otter said sheepishly, winking at Caitlin good-naturedly.

And then, Father Christmas was taking up the reins again and ruffled Caitlin's hair affectionately one last time before the reindeer had ascended into the starry sky, still glowing like the brightest candle.

Caitlin watched him go, the champagne-bubbly feeling sticking to her despite the elf's absence. Suddenly, though, Caitlin realized that she could still see Santa as he rose higher, that she could _see _him at all. She turned around to her otter family in a rush, and laughed gleefully when she was able to see them clearer than she ever had before. "I can see!" she cried. "I can see, oh my gosh!"

The two otters behind her stayed silent, completely confused by her outburst, but still realizing that the fact that she could see was a significant change from her previous state.

"THANK YOU!! THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH!" Caitlin yelled, cupping her hands to the sides of her mouth in the direction that the sleigh had disappeared. She waved at the retreating spirit even after she lost sight of him.

Behind her, Mrs. Otter took Mr. Otter's paw in hers. Their eyes met, full of happiness, as they watched their Daughter of Eve prance about as if she had not a burden in the whole of the world.

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_Hooray! That took half my life to write, but still, hooray! Review please, that'd be lovely, and no worries, we see Caspian extremely soon! Love always, a stiff-handed Fausta_


	6. Chapter 6: The Quest

Disclaimer: I am a college student, meaning I don't have money for food let alone a book and film dynasty.

a/n: You guys have NO idea how sorry I am that it's taken so long for me to post. I started college in August and it's been a really tough transition, so I hope that I'm kindofsortof forgiven.

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**Chapter 6: The Quest**

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Caspian's eyes opened slowly after being rudely awakened by a sudden twitch in his right leg. He was thrown off for a moment, seeing the canvas roof of a tent over his head instead of the red velvet curtains that he usually slept under, but he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his tired eyes and remembered that he was not at his uncle's fortress, but instead was in a camp among the roots of massive trees. His back ached slightly, and the leg that had twitched was being plagued by pins and needles as it woke up at a slower pace than its master.

Dawn had barely begun to light the sky as Caspian clambered out of the slapdash shelter he'd constructed late in the night, stretching and yawning before he kicked said shelter down to the dewy grass. He had slept in that wretched structure for close to three months at this point, with only Destrier for company and the occasional passerby for a clue as to a handful of possible places that the Daughter of Eve might have been. At one time. Quite a while ago. Or so a helpful farmer's sister's neighbor had been told. Maybe.

The king had begun to assume that he would be bald by the time he found this elusive Daughter of Eve, with his habits of running his hands through his hair or just plain pulling at the brown tresses when he was exasperated. And, it was needless to say, His Majesty had been exasperated since the first _week _of seeking this Daughter of Eve out. He tugged at the dark locks as he walked to the tree where Destrier had been tied, patting the warhorse on the nose softly.

"I do believe that this endeavor has stolen more time than previously predicted, my friend." The king murmured, and then set to picking up each of the horse's legs to check the overworked hooves for dirt or injuries. With all four hooves being in working condition, he gave the horse a genial clap on one great shoulder and turned back to his makeshift camp. It was so messily set up that Caspian was able to disassemble his rustic sleeping quarters in a matter of minutes, roughly stuffing the canvas tent back into a saddlebag and popping a few pieces of jerky in his mouth in the process. With no more ceremony than a swift kick to scatter the ashes from his cooking fire, the king had leapt into the saddle and urged the horse into an easy trot.

As the trees thinned around him, Caspian reached into a side-pouch near his hip and yanked an odd-looking scrap of cloth over his head. To a normal person, it was a hat that covered nearly the entirety of one's head. To the king, however, it was his pathetic and slightly embarrassing attempt to keep from being recognized. Nonetheless, His Majesty tucked a generous amount of dark hair into the awkward cap and sighed in stylish defeat. Besides his last-ditch-disguise cap, Caspian had left his silken (not to mention comfortable) finery at Miraz's fortress and taken a rough tunic, leather vest, and trousers that were of the most unbearable fabric that the king's skin had ever been forced to encounter.

Caspian grimaced at the thought and absently itched at his legs. This little disguise was necessary for his seemingly random escape from court; his tutor had actually suggested quite an elaborate ruse for the situation, shocking Caspian more than anything had in quite a few months. Cornelius had tugged at his beard and stared thoughtfully out the window as Caspian was being berated by his advisors with loud shouts of "You don't know what you're doing!" or "You're needed to greet So-And-So! The alliance will be ruined!" One particularly enthralled Lord had exclaimed "Pardon me, Your Highness, but this is _no time _for a holiday!" nearly making Caspian burst out laughing in a very undignified and taunting manner. But then Cornelius had spoken in his soft voice, suggesting that Caspian could be away from court for as long as was necessary, as long as it was not revealed that he was absent from it in the first place. The Lords threw a few more tantrums and had another handful of angry fits, but in the end, Caspian told them that they were to trust in his judgment as their rightful king, and marched out of the throne room.

So now, King Caspian X, Lord of Cair Paravel and Emperor of The Lone Islands, was "sick" in bed with a terrible fever from a wound obtained in the Epic Battle for Narnia's Freedom, and Plain Old Caspian X was on horseback in a Narnian forest on a possibly fruitless quest.

Letting out a heavy breath, Caspian's mind quickly fell into the monotonous sway of Destrier's slow trot and his thoughts drifted to what the outcome of his questing would be. He had no idea how he would distinguish this woman from the hundreds of others that populated his land, and even when he did find her, would she be willing to cooperate with Aslan's wishes? Another disturbing thought came to his mind; could it be, perhaps, that this Daughter of Eve was to usurp him? No woman had been in power since the Golden Age of Narnia, so it almost didn't cross the king's mind, but it seemed like something Aslan would set into motion. Maybe the Daughter of Eve would prove instrumental in the defeat of the few remaining pockets of Telmarine resistance, though Caspian would probably have trouble finding enough time to train a woman in the ways of warfare. And what if he didn't find her in time? Aslan had said that she was in need of his protection, but whatever evil that was hunting her may have already reached her. What would he do then? What would he have to show for his abrupt departure from court?

The king suddenly shook himself out of his daze to focus on Destrier's path, which had veered off course in just a short period of time. With a scowl, Caspian tugged brutally on Destrier's reins to attempt to return to their earlier route. The trees had once again grown denser and older around them, and the forest was completely unfamiliar. How, exactly, had His Majesty drifted so far? Black brows furrowed in annoyance as the king attempted to identify where he was in the forest. Sunlight was scarce, except for a parting in the trees quite a while in front of him. Feeling that there were very few options at that particular juncture, Caspian urged his stallions into a canter with a swift kick to his flanks.

The going was slower than the king would have liked, since the stallion needed to go slowly to avoid being pummeled by wayward tree limbs, but the clearing ahead gradually grew closer. Things began to take form within the little circle of light, at first looking like brightly-colored blobs and then becoming dozens of horse-drawn carts and bustling people. _Gypsies_, the king realized, bringing Destrier to a complete stop.

Caspian scanned the trees around him for any potential threat, or any belligerent voices emanating from the colorful caravans of the gypsy camp, but heard none. Slowly, he urged the horse on towards the lively grounds, tense with the apprehension that one of them would recognize their monarch and cause a scene. He ran a hand over his saddlebags, making sure that no clever hand could make its way into his things, and then dismounted. Curious faces peered out of the shoddy tents on the outskirts of the caravan, and the king did his best to appear casual as he maneuvered between them with Destrier's reins in hand. Some of the gypsies, mostly boisterous older men, approached him without hesitation to thrust their various wares under his nose that sounded slightly, if not enormously, overpriced. A necklace for pretty girl, dried herbs for cooking, brightly-colored cloth, and dozens of other trinkets were shoved at Caspian as he passed by the gypsies' wagons.

He tried to politely decline all of the insistent merchants, but after a solid fifteen minutes of nonstop pestering, they had worn away his patience. After a few well-placed scowls, the peddlers backed off and let Caspian pass without any more interference. Destrier whinnied subtly as Caspian tugged him along, meandering through the camp without much idea of where he should be going. He attempted to ask several people if they'd heard of a Daughter of Eve that wasn't from the region, but he was unceremoniously told to move along if he wasn't going to buy their goods. Caspian came close to reprimanding the rude merchants for scoffing at their king several times but managed to move along without blowing his cover.

After a long time of walking between the wagons, Caspian grew exasperated and stopped to climb atop Destrier and get on his way again. Truly, he was disheartened; he'd hoped that one of the boisterous peasants could have directed him out of the forest, at the very least. But no, here he was, leaving behind civilization for the untamed and questionably-populated forest once again. _May Aslan protect this Daughter of Eve when I finally find her, or I will most definitely throw her from the cliffs at Cair Paravel, _the king said to himself as he grasped the saddle's horn to hoist himself up.

"Yer Majesty, one moit wonder why 'is 'ighness is away from 'is loverly castle. Is moy king lost in the woods this foine day?"

The hoarse and crackling voice froze the entirety of Caspian's body, and the king whorled around to find the voice's owner. He had been found out.

It was an old woman, dressed in a robe of many colors, and a long braid of snow-white hair over her shoulder. The wrinkles in her face ran deep into her dark skin, and her hand was knobbed and crooked as a dog's hind leg as it reached towards him, but her eyes were dark and intense as they surveyed him. Before her was an upturned barrel, covered in a pretty piece of silk and several sets of dice, and he realized that she was a fortune-teller, a reader of minds and of the future.

"Good woman, what would make you think that I am the king?" he said, albeit shakily.

The woman's mouth widened in a toothless grin that seemed to be kind and scrutinizing at the same time. "The dice never lie, Yer Majesty. Oi was told you moit be gibbin' me a visit."

Caspian cleared his throat, wariness beginning to creep into his mind. "And what were you supposed to do if the king actually showed his face here?"

"Oi'm to gib Yer Majesty a message 'bout a Daughter o' Eve." The woman gestured to a crate opposite her. "Yer throne, Majesty." She chuckled roughly and gathered up the dice once more.

The king swallowed and secured Destrier to the woman's caravan wagon behind him. "I have no way to pay you, milady, my money has been spent on the course of my journey. That alone should be proof to you that I hold no kingly riches."

The woman shrugged him off. "All the be'er to fit in wiff the common man, eh 'ighness? Oi need to be gibbin' you a bit o' prophecy now, Majesty, so if'n you moit sit down to 'ear it, oi'd be greatly 'bliged."

After a short bout of apprehension, Caspian finally sat down on the flimsy-looking crate. "Very well, woman, prophesy me."

The woman ran her sharp eyes over the king's face as she began to move the dice between her twisted hands. Her eyes fell to a chain about the king's neck. "Yer Majesty moit pay with tha' trinket 'bout yer neck, were oi to charge yeh."

Caspian blinked and his hand went to his neck. Long fingers tapered down a chain to the small trinket that hung from it: a tiny gold sword with a miniature crown just under the hilt. It had been a gift from High King Peter upon his departure. For luck, he had said, since it had aided him for so long in his first reign; Caspian had almost forgotten that it was around his neck.

"I am sorry, but there is no way I could part with this particular ornament." He made sure that the charm was tucked into his tunic before he folded his hands on the barrel in front of him. Abruptly, the woman grabbed one of his hands and put it palm-down on the barrel. Before he could find time to be alarmed, she had reached around to a sack behind her and drawn out a large handful of black powder. The king watched in fascination as she traced the shape of his hand with the powder and made intricate designs coming off of his fingers.

The woman's sharp eyes surveyed her set-up with seasoned awareness, her gaze flitting back and forth between the occasional twitch of Caspian's fingers to the way the black powder had fallen on the barrel's silk cover, all the while rolling the dice together between her twisted fingers. Her dark eyes closed for a moment as she murmured cryptic whisperings, and then the little dice were flying from her grip to mingle with the powdery forms.

"You 'ave been seerchin' wivout d'recshun, 'ighness. May's well been bloind." The woman said immediately. "Oi kin tell ye roight now, yer to be lookin' south."

Caspian's spirits rose. At last, a trail to follow!

The ancient dark eyes continued to run over the outcome of her ritual. "A large gatherin', oi'd reckon, somefin' akin to a market. Yer to be lookin' in the market fer somb'dy as well, looks like they've to do wif water. And yer to be hearin' of that which 'is Majesty is looking fer, from this somb'dy." Her gaze shifted to the young king across from her whose eyes were wide with interest. "Majesty should be arrivin' in three days, if Aslan should keep any sloight delays from 'is 'ighness' path."

Filled with renewed fervor, Caspian leapt from his seat and placed his hands around the nearest of hers. "A thousand blessings upon you, m'lady! Upon my return home, I shall send you anything you desire for what you have done for me. Tell me, what is your name so that I may reward you in kind?" the king asked gleefully, and the woman looked up at him with a crooked grin.

With one gnarled hand, she patted his with tenderness. "Oi'm called Jyneera, 'ighness, but oi shall be needin' no reward. We all are gibbin' a lot in loife, somefin' that makes the future possible fer our children's children and all the way after 'em. Oi think that moine was to talk to Yer 'ighness on this day, and to think that oi may 'ave made life better fer somb'dy else is enough reward fer any old woman to accept." With that, the woman gestured towards Destrier's waiting form. "Now off with ye, Majesty. You've a great deal to do."

As her words rang in his head, Caspian bowed to her and gave her a meaningful smile before he turned and leapt onto Destrier's waiting back. "Come on, my friend, we've at last got our heading!"

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_Okay, the next post will be in a few days, promise!!_

_Love eternally, Fausta_


	7. Chapter 7: The Nature Child

Disclaimer: I no own Chronicles of Narnia.

**Chapter Seven: The Nature Child**

Summer breezes were whispering between the talking trees above the frothing river, happy to be moving cool air through the limbs. In the shade of the towering elms, a flaxen-haired nymph lounged atop a slick river rock in the water, running long fingers through her drying locks. Her skin was covered in tiny pink blossoms that had erupted in a lovely, sweet smelling lather that was as close to soap as one could get in the deep woods. Besides the blossoms and sunlight, she wore only a small dress made of soft cloth with one strap over one of her brown shoulders and stripes of gold and moss-green, the skirt of which had gathered at her hips when she had sat down to bathe.

The nymph's blue eyes turned at the sound of singing behind her on the riverbank, though no fear ever registered in their depths. At that moment, a flash of color and a familiar humming noise signaled the arrival of the music's owner. It was a hummingbird, who landed on her shoulder with a light touch and she smiled merrily enough to make the day seem that much brighter. "Hello, Talith! It has been quite a few days since I've seen you."

Ruffling his feathers congenially, the young hummingbird fluttered down to perch beside her on the rock. "My apologies, though I am quite fond of seeing you again as well, Milady Caitlin."

The words brought let free a bright giggle from Caitlin's throat. "So formal today!" With a slim finger, she touched the soft ruby-red chest with the back of a nail. "Well, Talith, you have caught me just as I finished my bath."

"My apologies." The bird said with a bow of his head.

Caitlin shrugged. "It is of no consequence, good Hummingbird. I was planning on leaving for the market as soon as I left here, so I'd wanted to smell something that wasn't otter pups or dirt."

"Quite understandable." said Talith as he hopped down her arm to perch on her outstretched finger.

With a final sweep of her hair, Caitlin met the gaze of the little bird and adopted a most mischievous grin. "Would you race me, if I asked nicely?"

The bird answered by springing from her finger with a humming laugh and disappearing in the general direction of the otter den. Caitlin laughed and leapt from the rock she had been perched upon, landing in the grass as gracefully as a butterfly would upon a blossom before she took off towards home as fast as she could.

Over the grass she flew, swift and light as a deer, with the wind of her flight blowing back her hair and the heavy charm that hung from her neck. The waterskin that her foster father had bought for her at market bounced heavily against her hip but she took no notice of it as she leapt over rocks and logs and hollows that she came across. Her hands reflexively caught a strong vine that swung her over a smaller stream that didn't slow her down in the slightest. She absently heard Talith hum near her ear, his song being a melody that she recognized but could not place. Familiar voices of birds and squirrels above called down to them as they weaved between the towering trees, and Caitlin had begun to think that the trees had tried to speak to her on several occasions. Three or four months ago, that would have seemed most impossible to her, but now she was merely wondering what had taken them so long to speak up.

Soon enough, Caitlin had rounded the bend in the river that brought her home into sight and the sound of Mama Otter calling to her pups reached her ears. She slowed down only slightly to make her way across the slippery stones that led across the river and home.

Mrs. Otter heard Caitlin's feet touch the riverbank as she jumped from the last stepping stone, but did not look up from her wash that needed to be hung up to dry. She nodded courteously at Talith as he settled on the clothesline.

Caitlin yelled a hello at the pups, who let out a communal whoop of happiness at their bigger sister's return, before she ran to the line of clothes and blankets that her mama had hung up and grabbed at particularly bright-colored piece of cloth. "Is my good dress clean?" she said quickly to her Mama, who sighed heavily.

"Hello, Caitlin." She said amusedly. "And no, dear, your good dress is still soaking."

With a huff of annoyance, Caitlin started to wrap her long blonde hair in the bright-colored cloth to hide the color of it as she tucked an end into itself. "Well, is my jerkin clean? I can wear that with some leggings or something."

Her mama shook her head. "Aye, your jerkin may be clean but your leggings are not. And I'm sorry, but I do not see you going into market in just that jerkin. You'd look a bit foolish with those tree-legs of yours bare for all the world to see."

Caitlin rolled her eyes as she pulled the jerkin off of the clothesline. "Mama, you never care if my legs show; I run around in a skirt that doesn't even come to the middle of my thighs, which would hardly be called decent." _Except if it were summer back home_, she thought suddenly, surprising even herself at the thought of that place.

"And under that skirt you're wearing some of those undergarments you made." The otter said calmly, not facing her foster daughter. "You would still look silly and indecent, so do not argue with me."

The girl huffed in annoyance yet again, and dropped the soft brown jerkin back onto the clothesline. "Fine, I will put on the wet dress and pray that it is dry by the time Papa and I arrive at the market."

"Papa already left!" called Alo from the water. "He said that you should not have taken such a long bath!" All of the other pups yelled their agreement as they began to crawl from the river and towards their mother and sister.

Caitlin looked down at her mama-otter with a glare. "He already left?! He promised he'd wait for me!"

"You _did_ take nearly an hour with your bath." Talith said from the clothesline, earning a sharp snarl from Caitlin.

Thoroughly put out, Caitlin plopped down in the grass next to her mama-otter with a heavy sigh and rested her head on her hands. "Well _now_ what am I supposed to do?" she said sadly. "I'm going to be bored all day."

Behind her, Dush and Mera crept up and tapped her shoulder. "You could come with us, Bigger Sister!" Mera said happily, her little paws expertly plaiting the blonde strands. "We were going to go and do some exploring until you and Papa came back, but it'll be extra fun if you come along!"

Pike and Alo looked up at her, pleading. "Please, Sister, please?"

Caitlin, feeling pup-induced guilt creeping up on her, looked helplessly at her mama and Talith. Mrs. Otter merely smiled and turned to continue hanging up laundry, and Talith gave her a sympathetic shrug. With a sigh, Caitlin's resolve broke and she gave the pups a winning smile. "Alright, kids, let's get to going."

Pike and Alo leapt away from their sisters with identical squeals of excitement, already moving towards whatever place they had in mind, and Dush tugged on the cloth that Caitlin had wrapped her hair in. "You don't have to hide your hair, Bigger Sister, since you're not going to market. You should take it down." Her little voice said quietly.

Sighing, the young woman tugged the cloth off of her head and nodded for Dush to join her siblings before turning to Mrs. Otter.

"Goodbye, Mama. I'll have them back by sundown, I promise." Caitlin said, re-shouldering her waterskin before glancing at the hummingbird who still perched upon the clothesline. "Talith, I'll catch up with you later, alright?" As the bird nodded his head, Caitlin took off after the pups who were already far ahead of her.

It didn't take her very long to catch up to them, of course, and once she did, the small group hurried down the riverbank into the parts of the forest that they had not ventured into yet. Every few minutes, the group would stop to test the waters of a newfound lagoon or climb an interestingly shaped rock, ever the curious children that they claimed to be. As she climbed the higher hills and rocks, Caitlin glimpsed the beautiful mountain range that served as the southern-most point of Narnia, where the river that had delivered her to the otters had its origin, or where the thick forests and untouched wilderness hid secrets from the very beginning of the land that Aslan had so lovingly constructed.

As the tiny group explored, Caitlin kept a wary ear out for the calls of familiar Talking Beasts, like the kind greetings of the neighboring family of foxes, or the belligerent shouts of the cranky old Owl that liked to pester them into not enjoying themselves.

But no, Caitlin heard not a bird's peep or a hare's quick steps through the brush near them, which was very odd on such a lovely day. Pushing it the back of her mind, Caitlin whooped and laughed with the pups as they made their way down the river, before pangs of hunger began to slow her progress. Perhaps two hours after crossing into a part of the forest that she'd never been to, when the sun was low in the sky, Caitlin came to a stop and sat down with a hard _thump_ before falling back and closing her eyes in exhaustion.

Pike noticed her absence first and slammed on the brakes to look for her, followed quickly by his brother and sisters. "Bigger Sister?" they called, worry lacing their little voices.

"I'm right here, pups. Just taking a break." She said, just loud enough for them to hear. She heard them all scurry to her side and opened one eye to look at them. "Are you guys hungry? The sun says its lunchtime."

Looking between each other, they all nodded.

"Mhm!"

"Yep!"

"If you are!"

"Uh-huh!"

Caitlin smiled and sat up. "Alright then, how about you all hop in the river and see if you can scrounge up some fish or clams or something. The one to get the most wins!" she said. "On three, okay?"

The pups poised themselves, glancing quickly back at their bigger sister every few seconds whilst twitching.

"One…two…THREE!!" Caitlin said jubilantly, watching as her pseudo-siblings jetted over the grass and slid into the water as gracefully as a pack of flailing cats. Shaking her head, Caitlin stood up to search out something to compliment their aquatic meal among the bushes and trees. In her time among the trees of the Great Forest, Caitlin had noticed her senses sharpening as more time passed; she was able to find distant berry bushes by their smell and she could climb trees well enough that it was easy to see where she was if she ever got lost. She had learned which nuts she could eat and which she couldn't, and which mushrooms were okay to eat and which were not.

Of course, these facts didn't stop her from feeling very proud when she knelt down to pick a handful of elderberries that had been hiding at the base of one of the great trees, or when she found a decently-sized patch of bright yellow Chicken of the Woods mushrooms that would complement the berries perfectly. After she had filled a leaf with all the mushroom-pieces that would fit, she dearly wished that she had brought the nifty little reticule she'd made herself, so that she could have taken the rest home for supper.

As she made her way towards the sounds of the pups trying to catch a few fish, Caitlin cast a glance towards the darkening sky; apparently it was much darker than she'd thought it was. With a disgruntled sigh, she realized it could also mean a thunderstorm, but she'd seen no dark clouds or even smelled rain on the air as of yet. Pike's voice shattered her train of thought as she came into their sights.

"Hey, Big Sister! Look, I won!!" he yelled ecstatically, jumping up and down and pointing wildly towards the four little brook trout that he'd managed to wrestle out of the water, still flopping about weakly. The pups hadn't ever killed fish on their own; Caitlin was always the one to have to do it when they were on their own.

After Pike, Alo had caught two little fish and found a few mussels, and the two girls had found a handful of mussels between them. Caitlin looked down at her little otter-siblings proudly.

"You all did very, very well! You're the best fishermen than I've ever met, to be sure!" she said merrily, plopping down next to the pups and spreading out the gigantic leaf full of food in the center for them all to pick at. All of the pups watched in fascination as Caitlin picked up the first of the trout and bit it once on the back of the neck hard enough to break its spine and kill it, and then saw her do the same to the others; there was no need for Caitlin to make a fire, since these kinds of fish were safe to eat raw. The mussels, which were pretty big compared to ones that Caitlin had found in her own food foraging, they could eat raw, straight from their black shells, so there were no more necks for Caitlin to have to bite.

The five pseudo-siblings took their time with their haphazard picnic, popping a few berries into their mouths between slurping up mussels and eating bits of mushroom and fish fillets. It was the perfect afternoon, better than any afternoon at the bustling market could have been.

But, of course, Fate could never allow such a perfect afternoon to stay so perfect, and Caitlin's hand stopped halfway to her mouth as a sudden chill shook her spine. Some long-dormant, animalistic portion of her mind attempted to warn her, to set her legs into motion, to keep the pups within her sights. But the larger part of her mind ignored the warnings, and focused more on following her otter siblings as they began to scurry around the riverbank.

Fate was preparing to deal out a terrible blow, and began to slowly bare its teeth as little Mera wandered into unexplored territory before Caitlin's eyes could notice her absence. By the time her screaming reached her siblings, it was too late for destiny to be avoided.

_a/n: Cliffhanger!! Okay, more very soon. Review, please. Love always, Fausta_


	8. Chapter 8: Damsel in Distress

_Disclaimer: I no own Chronicles of Narnia._

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**Chapter 8: Damsel in Distress**

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Towering above the small marketplace on his black stallion, King Caspian X scanned the heads of Talking Beasts and humans alike in search of whoever it was that the woman Jyneera had told him to look for; thusfar, he had seen dozens of people who could have something to do with water: women carrying jugs of the stuff, a fisherman selling his wares, a mother beaver and two young beaver kits doing their shopping, and so on and so forth, all yielding no help at all since no one was mentioning a Daughter of Eve.

With a sigh of what sounded terribly close to defeat, Caspian slipped from Destrier's back to take the reins in his hands and weave between his countrymen. To walk among them was quite a and advisors. He had missed being able to wander among the splendid Talking Beasts as if it were nothing, though he hadn't realized it. Sir Reepicheep had become the only Talking Beast who was in His Majesty's company almost constantly, though sometimes the Lilliputian knight was as much Talking Beast as the king could handle.

None of the Beasts or peasants that Caspian encountered gave him a second glance, which was rather nice; it further proved that his "disguise" (meaning the ugly hat and ragtag clothes) was sufficient. Chatter about farms and children and hunting excursions filled the king's ears, but still no Daughter of Eve, though after a few more minutes Caspian found himself being pulled into a conversation by a faun who was luring passersby with his goods.

The faun was tall (by faun standards, anyway) and had dark fur; his hair was riddled with waves that were held back by a harsh leather comb. A lovely silk jacket covered his otherwise bare chest, and the shining gold embroidery caught Caspian's gaze as the sun's last low rays glistened off of the intricate stitchery. Behind the faun were his rather extravagant wares, all of them clothing of good quality; handmade leather jerkins with intricate stitching and boots of the toughest hide were sported among brightly-colored dresses and leggings. The royal, pampered part of Caspian, albeit a small part, had been dying a slow and miserable death in the itching, miserable fabric of his peasant disguise. The nagging, picky voice screamed from the dark recesses of Caspian's otherwise male (and thus impartial when it came to fashion) brain.

By then, the faun had noticed a potential customer in the young king and called out to him genially. "My good Sir, you seem to be a man of taste. Might you be interested in some of my humble creations?" The faun gestured towards the boots Caspian had seen. "Or perhaps a gift for the little woman back home? My wife's skill with stitching is unmatched." He said again, running a hand over some softer, more feminine scraps of cloth.

Caspian nodded, and a grin grew on his face to match the faun's. "Yes, good Faun, a new jerkin or two would be quite fine." He reached into the nearest saddlebag and pulled a small reticule that jingled with the sound of many coins. "Perhaps something with that exquisite embroidery that your wife possesses such prowess in?" The king said, glad to have the chance to wear something that was both comfortable and handmade by a skilled Narnian artisan.

Casting a wary eye to the heavy coin purse, the faun began to pick up different jerkins and doublets in varying colors and design. Each piece seemed to have a different anecdote attached to its appearance, such as intricate silver designs embroidered down the sleeves of a particular doublet that hinting at how life had been in the time of the White Witch. It literally sent icy shivers down the king's spine. Another doublet had captured the feeling of autumn leaves, and another the soft, silken caress of water. They were truly amazing.

Taking hold of a deep blue doublet, Caspian checked the length of the sleeves against his own arms, and the width of the shoulders, and the length of the torso, much to the delight of the faun, who immediately began to shower Caspian with encouragement.

"It's as if it were made for you, Good Sir." The faun said, beginning to slowly tuck away the other choices, before the voice of another customer stayed his hand.

"Hello then, Grabian! What sort of fineries might you have for me today?" called the voice of another Talking Beast, and Caspian glanced at an approaching otter. Under one arm, he carried a sizeable basket full of fresh fruit and vegetables enough to feed a small battalion of troops.

The satyr Grabian nodded in greeting to the otter, the hint of a genuine grin on his face. "Good day, Otter! Out buying more for that new addition to the family?"

Sauntering up to the satyr's side, the otter chuckled. "As as a matter of fact, I am. She is in need of some new garment of sorts, perhaps something a bit easier to move about in than that gown I took home last month. Apparently, the gown makes it difficult to run around with the pups."

Caspian's brows knitted together in confusion. _An otter wearing a gown?_

Grabian laughed, reaching for a few options for Mr. Otter to sift through. "Most would say that's a good thing, seeing as females aren't supposed to be running about as yours does anyways."

With a dismissive huff, Mr. Otter set his basket down by Caspian's right foot as the young king began counting out coins for the doublet. "Very well then, Grabian," said the Otter, "_you_ can be the one to school her in the ways of ladylike behavior when she decides to come to market again. Personally, I don't think that you possess the fortitude to go up against spitfire like our Caitlin. Not many do."

The Satyr nodded, a grin still wide upon his face. "I'd believe it, especially after meeting the little sprite myself. If I'd not agreed to her trade for those leggings the first time she visited, I would probably still be in negotiation with her now. Quite a quick wit, that girl."

With a sigh, Mr. Otter's tone took on a slight air of concern that was difficult to decipher. "Perhaps too quick for her own good, if she's ever to leave the forest. She remarked the last time we visited that most of the Telmarines eyed her as if she had sprouted fins and gills and was ripe for the devouring."

For a moment, an awkward silence descended over Grabian's market stall, save for the jingling of Caspian's money as he continued with his counting and Mr. Otter as he uncomfortably looked through the dresses set before him.

Finally, the Satyr cleared his throat to sever the silence. "So, when is she going to be stopping by again? It's been nearly two months since last she came by."

Mr. Otter began setting aside a few brightly-colored frocks for final deliberation. "Well, she would have come today, my friend, but I'm afraid that she took nearly an hour with a bath before I decided to leave without her. I'm sure to be getting an earful of grief upon my return home."

Grabian laughed. "Well, when dealing with females, what else can you expect?"

Finally, Mr. Otter settled on a sensible green dress that had very lovely leaves threaded through the sleeves and the waist. "Ah, here we are. Just the thing she would like, I think." He said, mostly to himself. Tossing a few gold pieces to the satyr, Mr. Otter gathered the frock into his basket. "I'm off for home, then. I shall see you soon, my friend."

As the otter began to be swallowed in the crowds, Caspian heard the satyr's words echo after him. "Be sure that the girl accompanies you next time, Otter! My wife finds it hard enough to make clothes for a Daughter of Eve, but harder still to make clothes for one who's not been measured in a few months!"

_Daughter of Eve_. Caspian's eyes widened. _An otter, that would most definitely have something to do with water._

"That's it!" Caspian cried to no one, hands dropping his reticule before he could even realize that it was still in his hands, and the small pouch fell onto Grabian's table. The satyr's eyes saw the glittering coins fall from the reticule, and saw the young man disappearing into the market crowds before the satyr could even point out his mistake.

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At the same moment, underneath the same sunny sky, the terrified cries of little Mera had set Caitlin in motion before she'd had even a moment to think otherwise. Her heart hammered in her chest, it's harsh beating echoing in her ears as her eyes frantically scanned the forest floor for signs of her little sister.

"Mera?!" Caitlin cried, the other pups scurrying to keep up with her long-legged sprints. Reaching behind her to point blindly in the direction of the river, Caitlin yelled. "No, pups, you stay by the river! If you hear anything scary, you swim home as fast as you can!" As Caitlin left the others, Mera's cries grew louder, filling with the sound of frantic sobbing, and Caitlin let out a scream of frustration as she felt her heart breaking in two at the thought of Mera in pain. "Mera, where are you?! Tell me where you are!!"

Just as tears of dread had begun to fall from her thick lashes, Caitlin heard the sobs of her little sister fade away to little whimpers that eventually formed words. "B-bigger Sister?" came the strangled cry of the little pup, and Caitlin felt a surge of such relief at the sound of Mera's voice so close. Sure enough, Mera's whimpers made quick work of finding her in the brush, and soon Caitlin had found the way to the frantic pup's side.

"Oh, Mera…" Caitlin said with pity, seeing her little sister's position. A long cord had wrapped itself around the curious pup's neck, and as she'd struggled, the trap had only wound itself tighter. Caitlin frowned as she traced the line of the string to a simple snare, realizing a terrible truth. "This was… a human trap. Someone's trying to catch Talking Beasts." she said quietly.

Mera gazed at her sister's worried face. "Bigger Sister, am I going to be stuck forever?"

Caitlin shook her head. "Of course not, kiddo. I'll have you out in a moment, just calm down."

As her sister's nimble fingers went about finding the knot of the string, the otter pup let a few more sniffles punctuate her quickly ebbing fear. "Why did someone try to catch me? I'm not very big, and I don't think I'd be very yummy. Pike says that I'm the scrawniest." The pup said, puzzling over her predicament. Above her, Caitlin let out a small huff of exasperation as the microscopic knot refused to be loosened, while also making a mental note to scold Pike as soon as possible.

"Can you breathe alright?" She asked, and Mera gave a meek nod. Caitlin went back to her work of trying to free the little otter, but after a few more attempts at severing the cord with her teeth and tugging it loose didn't work. Sensing the pup's unease, Caitlin tried to smile. "One day, you will be able to remember this and laugh about how silly you and I acted."

Mera merely sniffled in resigned self-pity, leaving Caitlin to her work. But similar to the moment that Caitlin's mind had tried to warn her of impending danger, yet another chill suddenly shot up her spine as the soft sounds of rustling undergrowth sounded from behind her. She dimly registered that Mera had suddenly gone still underneath her hands, sniffing the air apprehensively.

"Bigger Sister, something smells funny." She said, fear beginning to make its way back into her voice once again.

Caitlin turned to peer over her shoulder, instantly relaxing when her eyes settled on the familiar shape of the Wolverine that lived down-river from her otter family. "Oh, Brother Wolverine! You really have to start announcing your presence, my friend, you nearly scared Mera to death." Of all Talking Beasts, Caitlin knew that this Wolverine was the most talkative creature she had encountered, not to mention the most helpful. Perhaps she could escape his never-ending banter and get him to help her.

When the Talking Beast didn't answer after a long moment, Caitlin felt another curl of warning sneak up her spine. "W-what brings you so far from home? Did Momma send you after us?" she asked jovially, trying to mask whatever feeling had begun to churn her stomach.

There was still no reply, just a low and terrible growling from behind her, a sound that Brother Wolverine would never utter. Apprehension stole any hope from the Daughter of Eve's lovely visage as she realized that whatever was behind her was _not_ there as her saving grace. With a shuddering breath, Caitlin shut her eyes tight against Fate.

And in that moment, Fate pounced. It pounced directly at Caitlin's back.

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_My goodness, I need to improve upon the time between my updates, but anyways I'm working on Chapter Nine like a crazed fiend. I think you all will like this next one.  
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_Love always, Fausta  
_


	9. Chapter 9: Meeting with the Goddess

Disclaimer: Seriously, kids, I don't own C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.

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**Chapter 9: Meeting with the Goddess**

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On a field trip to the zoo, a six year-old Caitlin Elysium had looked up to the tour guide from under an adorable pink hat that matched her pink dress and pink shoes. ""Mister Thomas?" she said, looking up with question marks in her big blue eyes. "Are wolverines the same thing as baby wolves?"

Mister Thomas had peered down at the child with a grin. "Not quite, honey. Wolves are much, much bigger and they all live together like a family. Wolverines are a lot meaner, and they live alone."

Little Caitlin had frowned at this statement. "If they had families, maybe they wouldn't be mean."

The man patted her little pink hat with a little grin. "I don't know about that, missy. Sometimes animals are just plain mean."

At the time, Caitlin hadn't believed that it could be true, that any living creature could be inherently cruel. But as a feral wolverine leapt at her, its vicious snarl sounding through the trees, the young woman quickly changed her mind.

The monster had come from above, perhaps climbing onto a boulder or some such thing, and came down on Caitlin's shoulders with such force that she had to fall to one side to keep from crushing Mera with her body. It stayed on top of her for a moment more, digging at her back with its lengthy claws that left red, bleeding welts.

Caitlin yelled at the pain that erupted down her back and tried to launch the beast away from her as she sat up. The wolverine staggered back, rallying its strength. Glancing at the trees around her, Caitlin briefly considered climbing one to safety, but her sense told her that leaving Mera wasn't an option.

The little otter screamed, utterly terrified as she saw the blood seeping into her sister's hair and clothes. Caitlin groaned in pain, kicking out at the beast's head as it rushed at them again. She waved her arms above her head, trying to seem like more of a threat despite how her back burned at the slightest movement. "Get out of here, get!! You're not getting anything here, you brainless brute!"

Apparently, the wolverine didn't comprehend her angry tone, since it continued growling and snapping at her as she flailed about. It suddenly charged at her, and she stumbled backward. Adrenaline brought abnormal strength to Caitlin's arms, and with an equally vicious snarl she threw all of her weight at the charging monster, sending it a few feet away. Unfortunately, it had swung its paw back before she could react and a deep gash appeared on her forearm.

She let out a bloodcurdling screech of pain and animalistic rage, which resonated through more than just the small clearing where her battle was being fought.

Around her, the trees twitched to life ever so slowly and carried the sound of her screams through their branches in all directions. Leaves pulsed as the sound passed through them, over two miles away.

Her uninjured arm reached wildly around for something to strike the beast with, coming up with a stone that came to a blunt point. She held it aloft, teeth bared as she crouched between Mera and the wolverine. Blood dripped down her arm and down her spine, red and warm and painful as it colored the dirt at her feet. Caitlin didn't have the time to notice her wounds, but the wolverine's nose inhaled the scent of spilled blood like it was a freshly-cooked meal.

The wolverine rushed forward again, growling deep in his throat. He snapped at her face, coming close enough to rustle her hair before she fell back in shock. Caitlin crashed her rock into the wolverine's paw, and felt a satisfying crunch, but it only seemed to piss it off.

She was beginning to get dizzy as more and more of her blood seeped out of the numerous gashes her body had been painted with. It hurt. It hurt so badly that she was hardly able to focus on the wolverine's movements. She was going to leave Mera on her own if she gave up, and even through her rapidly blurring vision, it was obvious to her that the wolverine had no intention of backing down.

"Caitlin?!" The voice that reached Caitlin's ears was not Mera's, but it was achingly familiar.

_Talith_, she thought, trying to focus her eyesight through the pain. "I'm going to pass out in a minute here, Talith."

"Hang on for a few moments. Help is almost here." He said quickly, somewhere close to her ear.

She nodded, swallowing the taste of bile as she swung out at the wolverine's advances.

Talith felt panic fully overtake him as he caught sight of Caitlin's wounded state. The Telmarine stranger had been just behind him, the great black horse galloping at full speed, but it appeared that the Daughter of Eve would collapse before he could arrive. In that moment, Talith felt the sudden desire to be a monstrous griffin that could rip the vile creature open with one swipe of his talons.

Whistling through the air, an arrow sprouted from the wolverine's side. Talith saw the looming shape of the Telmarine's horse weave through the trees, its rider clutching a crossbow in skilled hands. The wolverine turned to face the new foe, the arrow not having deterred it in the slightest. Another arrow appeared in the brute's shoulder, and still it stood its ground. It was only when the Telmarine aimed for the creature's face that it halted its motions, blood spurting in a sickening fountain as the arrow sunk deeply into the skin under one beady eye.

Talith turned his head away from the grisly scene just in time to see Mr. Otter biting the cord around Mera's neck, chopping it neatly in two. The pup whimpered piteously and buried herself into the thick fur of her father's belly, his arms coming to comfort her small form as it shook from fear.

"Papa?" Caitlin asked, feeling extremely nauseated as the smell of what was most likely her own blood permeated the air. "Where'd you come from?"

The otter pointed to the great black horse behind him. "I was on _that_ blasted thing. Last time I ride one of those, believe, you, me." His dark eyes surveyed the many wounds that marred Caitlin's fair skin, concern showing in his face. "We must get you home as quickly as possible. Your mama needs to tend those."

Talith watched Caitlin nod slowly and noticed that her eyes were growing heavy. He hovered anxiously between the Daughter of Eve and the otters, hardly remembering the man behind them until he spoke up.

"You do not have very long before you pass out, Daughter of Eve. We must stop the bleeding." He said in his deep voice, his back to the small group.

Talith zoomed to linger over the man's shoulder as he rummaged in his saddlebags for something that could have been a shirt. "It is probably not wise to have her walk or swim back to the den. Would you object to carrying her on your horse?"

"I was going to suggest the very same thing, Hummingbird." The man said, walking over to the injured party with his shirt in hand. As the man knelt by Caitlin and pressed the shirt to her back, Talith hummed by Mr. Otter's ear. He watched as Caitlin hissed in pain and dug her fingers into the dirt at the sudden pressure, worry once again clouding his thoughts.

"Talith." Mr. Otter said, anxiety evident in his voice as he continued to pat Mera's back. "Go on ahead and tell Mrs. Otter what to expect. We'll be along as quickly as possible, and tell her I'll be along with extra yarrow, since we'll probably need it."

The Hummingbird shot into the trees as little more than a brown blur, ducking leaves and spider's webs in his haste to reach the otter den. It took him hardly two minutes to reach the den, and even from a distance Talith could hear the frantic questions of the small pups.

"Mera is probably so scared! I knew I shouldn't have teased her, what if I never see her again?"

"Caitlin and Mera have been gobbled up, I just know it!"

"Caitlin said to run if anything scary happened, but what if they really got hurt? What if they're dead forever??"

Mrs. Otter put a stop to their worrying as she saw Talith come into their clearing and hover a few feet away. "I'll not have that talk. All of you go inside and talk quietly until I say otherwise."

Talith hurried up to Mrs. Otter's side, flying just before her face as he spoke quickly. "It was a wolverine. Feral."

Mrs. Otter put a paw over her heart. "Oh, by Aslan…"

"Mera is alright, and her Papa is with her. Caitlin has several deep wounds on her back and one on her arm, and the Telmarine has put a shirt over it until they arrive."

"A Telmarine?"

"Yes, Mr. Otter met him in the market. I'm afraid I don't know the full reasoning behind his presence. But Mr. Otter said that he would be bringing more yarrow, since your stores are probably too low to fully tend to Caitlin's wounds."

Frantic by now, Mrs. Otter disappeared into the den with Talith just over her shoulder, murmuring worried sounds under her breath as she twisted her paws in and out of one another. The pups stared from their bed as their mother rummaged through cupboards and baskets for bandages and the like, all keeping silent for the first time in their short lives.

Talith gently lifted up the end of a spool of thread with a foot. "You may need to stitch her up when she arrives. I'm not sure how deep her wounds are."

The unmistakable sound of horse's hooves rustled outside and Mrs. Otter opened the door with a flourish as she rushed out to see Caitlin on the great black horse, presumably unconscious or close to it. She rode sidesaddle, held between the arm of the Telmarine and his chest. As the horse came to a jerking halt, Caitlin opened her eyes and started to get down off the horse herself, but her escort stopped her and stepped down first. He helped her down, not noticing the annoyed scowl that settled on her face which Talith believed to be completely unrelated to her injuries.

A sopping Mr. Otter appeared behind them, an equally soaked Mera clutching him tightly with fear still present in her eyes. Mrs. Otter let out a little cry and ran to her husband, hugging him close as Mera's little hands attached themselves to her fur. The moment did not last long before Mr. Otter cleared his throat and moved towards the den and his foster daughter.

Talith flitted into the den in front of them all, perching on the table as he watched the odd procession enter. The Otters entered first, sending Mera to bed with her brothers and sister who received her with hugs and excited whispers. Behind them, Caitlin ducked inside with the young man helping her along. She sat down hard on the dirt floor, grunting in pain as her mama peeled back the bloody shirt from her back and surveyed the oozing gashes that the wolverine had sliced into her skin. Her dress was in shambles, the sleeve on her shoulder all but falling off and revealing far too much skin to be decent.

Mrs. Otter turned to her husband. "Why don't you take this man outside, darling? For modesty's sake."

Ignoring the annoyed huff of his foster daughter, Mr. Otter nodded to his wife and left the den. The Telmarine hung back for a moment, but followed the Otter out onto the riverbank with a humming Talith a few inches above his head. Night had fallen quickly and a cacophony of insects and birds rattled above them in the dark tree tops. For a moment, Talith considered returning to his nest for a good night's sleep after the stresses of the day, but a glance at Mr. Otter's stern expression convinced the young Hummingbird that an interesting conversation was soon to follow.

Talith settled on the clothesline next to forgotten bed linens that wafted in a soft spring wind. The great black horse whinnied softly at the arrival of its master, who patted its nose and removed the expensive-looking bridle from its face.

"Sir, I have several questions for you." Mr. Otter said at last, keeping a safe distance from the tamed horse. "At the market, you questioned me about Caitlin quite thoroughly. What interest do you have in her?"

The Son of Adam turned, still holding the bridle in his hands. "No interest, Otter, except her protection. I was told that her life would be in danger and that I was to keep harm from coming to her."

From his perch, Talith gave the young man a quizzical look. "Who knew that such a thing would happen?"

Mr. Otter looked hard at the Son of Adam, who stared right back for a long moment saying everything without opening his mouth. Suddenly, Mr. Otter spoke. "Aslan would." He said reverently, realization coming like the sun through dark clouds. "Aslan would know that you and I would cross paths in the market today, or that Caitlin would come to Narnia at all."

Talith's eyes were wide with shock. "You were sent by Aslan himself?"

The man nodded. "Yes, I was."

The Hummingbird shook his head. "Does He have some purpose for her? Is that why you were sent to keep her safe?"

"I was told that she needed the King's protection, so I have come to give it to her. She has a greater purpose here in Narnia, of that Aslan assured me." He said eloquently, and Talith thought absently that he spoke far too well to warrant his common appearance.

A frown still on his feature, Mr. Otter crossed his arms over his chest. "So, the King sent you after Caitlin as well?"

"No." The Telmarine said, suddenly seeming much taller and more dignified to his small audience. "I _am_ the King."

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A wooden spoon set between her white teeth, Caitlin squeezed her blue eyes shut as her mama came close to stitch up her arm. With the first stab of the needle, the Daughter of Eve let out an impressive scream and her teeth made deep indentions in the grain of the wood. Dark string began to make its way down the stretch of her arm, bringing together the bleeding skin. In their bed, the pups were silent as they tried to block out the sight and sounds of their sister's pain.

Giving the Daughter of Eve a bit of ginger to keep any nausea at bay, Mrs. Otter sat with her foster daughter and made a neat row of 17 stitches as the girl whimpered and cried through the pain. At last, sweating and hiccoughing with tears, Caitlin surveyed the expanse of her arm now marred by tiny black stitches as her mama mixed water, yarrow, and Klamath weed with a mortar and pestle to make a thick green salve. The cool, slippery texture was soothing to the broken skin, numbing the pain away to a dull throb almost as soon as it was put on. Brought from a high shelf or a dark closet, the gray shirt from her other life had been cut into long strips for bandages. Mrs. Otter wound it around Caitlin's arm with care, tying it into a neat bow near her elbow before quietly asking her to lie down on her tummy.

The cuts on her back were too shallow to warrant stitches, and only required cleaning and a few soothing layers of salve. After a few unsuccessful attempts to properly bandage her back, Mrs. Otter at last found a way to wrap the bits of cloth around Caitlin's lean form to keep the wounds covered.

"There you are, dear." Mrs. Otter said, handing her the soft leggings that had been washed that morning, followed by an overlarge tunic that wouldn't press upon her stitches or scratches. Her modesty was slightly compromised by the deep neckline, so she wrapped herself in a patchwork quilt after getting dressed.

It was then that Caitlin realized that her mama was crying. Tears were rolling down the soft fur of her face as her features showed motherly love and sympathy and guilt. "Oh, my dear…I'm so sorry that this happened. Perhaps if I had sent you after your papa or kept you at the den for just a few minutes longer…" The otter's words trailed off into a melancholy silence.

With her uninjured arm, Caitlin caught her mama in a sideways hug. "It wasn't your fault at all, Mama. You couldn't have known that something would happen."

The pups, now peeking around the door jamb with worried looks, began sniffling as well which caught their sister's attention. Smiling softly, she waved them over and gathered them up when they launched themselves into the folds of the quilt, staying silent even as tiny paws grasped her injured arm or stepped on her back. In that moment, nothing mattered but making sure her family knew that she loved them, and would die for them, without a second thought.

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_I am SO sorry about how long it's taking me to update. College has been kicking my ass lately, but my muse slapped me in the face recently, and hopefully she'll keep it up. Reviews might make me write faster, though…_

_Love always, Fausta_


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